Together
by antokai
Summary: Starco. Marco learns how to use magic and star is starting to wonder what all these feelings she's having mean. Life is an everlasting adventure, so what will these two get up to?
1. What happened to you?

**Chapter 1: What happened to you?**

Lightning. Thats what was in his hands, Marco's hands to be precise. His eyes were glowing an electric blue with a glare that could strike fear into a dragon. But when did he learn to do this? When did he get so bad ass? Why was he here? So many questions flooded star's mind but she couldn't find answers to any of them. Marco had stopped in the middle of his date with Jackie to come help her out, he saw the blood moon and knew immediately that she was in trouble so he rushed to find her in the graveyard doing their ritual. When he got there star had been on the losing end of a fight with ludo. Ever since he got his hands on a wand he had become increasingly more dangerous, it seemed like every time they fought he got stronger and stronger with no end in sight. Marco figured ludo practiced his magic more than star did, but he never had the heart to tell her that. Unbeknownst to him, the blond princess had also come to that conclusion, but she still couldn't devote herself to practicing her magic like she wanted, it was incredibly boring and repetitive and she'd much rather spend time having fun with Marco. It was times like this, though, that both of them regretted doing nothing about her lack of practice. Ludo had turned his wand into a sword and managed to augment his speed to compensate for his lack of physical ability. In the heat of the moment he caught star off guard, she couldn't remember a spell to make a magical sword so all she could do was dodge, but her dodge wasn't fast enough and ludo slashed through her dress, creating a small gash on her stomach. Though it was small, it stung incredibly bad and star fell to the ground, trying to rub the pain and trickling blood away. It was then that Marco appeared in the blink of an eye, swatting ludo away with a bolt of blue lightning. Now star wasn't even thinking about the pain, all she could think about was Marco and this incredible power he had never told her about. She rose to her feet "Marco... what is this?" she asked, touching his shoulder. He seized up and star removed her hand, a sad expression on her face. Marco felt bad she had to find out this way, that she had to find out at all really, but the situation called for it.

 _A few months ago_

Marco and star had just gotten home from their battle with toffee. Even though Marco had come insanely close to death and star had to go through the pain of destroying her wand, both of them seemed content with the fact that the other was ok. They were headed to the bathroom to clean up, but Marco had to get something off his chest. "Star...?" he asked. She stopped and turned to face him "Yeah Marco?" he stood there for a moment, trying to gather all his thoughts into a sentence, or a speech rather. "W-well, I wanted to say thanks for saving me." he said. "Oh. No prob-" "I'm not done." he interrupted. Star nodded for him to continue. "I know it had to be really hard to destroy your wand like that, but you were really willing to go that far for me..." he started blushing and rubbing the back of his head, trying to find the words to go ahead with his little speech, he was never very good at emotional things. "I just wanted to let you know that it means a lot to me, you know, saving my butt all the time and going the extra mile just to make sure I'm ok." the princess was starting to develop a blush of her own. "Its not just that either, you're someone I can talk to, someone I can connect with and you're like super awesome! You've brought so much excitement into my life star, I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am that we met." Star smiled and looked away, her cheeks a bright shade of pink "Ok Marco I-" "Look I know that it's probably really sudden to hear something like this from me, but after something like that I just have to get this off my chest. I wanted to let you know you mean a lot to me and if you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask ok?" the boy had finally managed to get it all out and he finally looked up from the floor to see his best friend with tears pricking at her eyes, but with a big smile on her face. "Oh no, star I'm so-" the boy was cut off by star wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly. He was stunned at first, but smiled and hugged her back just as tight. "Thank you Marco, I really needed that right now." star admitted. Marco always seemed to know just what to say to her, regardless of how awkward he could be. They hugged for what seemed like a long time, Marco had to guess it was at least ten minutes. Star buried her head in his chest and he could feel wet spots in his shirt, but he could also feel her wide smile. He felt his heart beginning to beat faster, there was just something about her that made him feel comfortable, like no matter what happened everything would be ok. He wondered if she got that feeling from him. He started wondering about other things too, about his own strength and how this whole situation could've been avoided if he had just been strong enough to avoid being captured. She pulled away from him and sniffled "I'm going to my room to clean up, you should get in the shower, you're pretty dirty." she giggled, trying to wipe her tears away. Marco reached his hand up and wiped the tears from her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She seemed to nuzzle into the palm of his hand, but he couldn't really tell. "Seriously star, thanks, for everything." star let herself feel the touch of his hand on her face, she felt a small blush creep onto her cheeks. _Am I actually enjoying this?_ She wondered. She shook her head out of Marco's grasp "No problem buuuuuuddy, its nothing you wouldn't do for me, now, SHOWER DIRTY MAN." she shouted, pointing to the bathroom. "Y-yes ma'am!" he agreed nervously, running inside and taking his shower.

Later in the night when everything had calmed down Marco was sitting in his room doing some homework he had to catch up on. While having fun with star was amazing, it wasn't without its share of drawbacks, almost every time something happened he had work that he had blown off or forgotten to do. It was worth it though, at least in his mind, he'd rather be out having fun with star than doing lame homework anyway. It was funny, before star had come around he had always been the straight edge kid that no one expected to miss any work or days of school, but since she had become a part of his life he was no longer a straight A student and his absences had increased exponentially. It was really starting to throw people off. Now, sitting down and trying to finish up an essay he had to do for school, he found himself oddly distracted. It was a feeling of incredible guilt and sadness. _But why...? Is there something I should feel bad about? Nothing happened out of the ordinary today._ He thought. In truth it was something that had been nagging at him for a long time, but he couldn't place quite what it was. "Something the matter?" a voice whispered, making Marco fall out of his desk chair. "Glossaryck? What're you doing here!" Marco shouted furiously. "Well star asked if she could read her spell book to herself for now and I get terribly bored when I have nothing to do, so, here I am." he explained. Marco didn't know what to say "Well, I don't know what I can do to help you, but you're welcome to stay if you want." Marco said. "Well my boy, I think you should be asking me what it is I can do to help you." Glossaryck riddled. Marco raised an eyebrow "What is it that I need help with exactly?" he asked. Glossaryck sighed "Something that has been troubling you for quite awhile it seems, I can see it, why can't you?" Marco was starting to find Glossaryck's riddles slightly annoying until the little blue man pointed toward his computer screen. At the very bottom, where he had just gotten done writing it read 'Not strong enough'. _When did I even type that?_ Marco wondered. "It seems subconsciously you're feeling inadequate with the state of things, perhaps that a girl can kick more butt than you hm?" Glossaryck teased. Marco was starting to understand it now, this sense of guilt he was feeling was because he felt like more of a burden to star than a help. It seemed like she just did a bunch of magic and saved both their butts, while all his karate did was slow the monsters down. It was like he had told her once before, she was this awesome princess from outer space and he was just some regular earth kid. Marco sat down, his head hanging low "It's not that she's a girl, it's just that she's my friend and I can't ever seem to help her as much as I want to." he admitted. "So what do you plan to do about it?" Glossaryck asked. Marco thought about it for a second, he could become a black belt in karate, but that would take too long and in the end it probably wouldn't even be effective. So what else was there? What did star have that he didn't? Their strength was about even, reflexes and speed too, so what was left? _Magic_ he thought. "I need magic." Marco said. Immediately he felt stupid "But isn't that something you're born into? You can't just learn it or get it like any other skill right?" Marco asked. "Not necessarily." Glossaryck said. He couldn't help but smile that the boy had figured it out so quickly, now he just needed to be guided on the right path. Marco looked at him curiously, was there really a way to gain magical powers? "While it is true you can be born into magic, that doesn't necessarily mean that's the only way to receive magical powers." Marco was listening to Glossaryck's explanation with intense focus. "There have been many throughout the ages who have gained magic through other means." Glossaryck explained. "What kinds of means?" Marco asked. "Well, some have stolen it, some have killed very powerful beings to gain it, and all others could only gain it through rigorous training and hard work." Marco wasn't a thief and as it was he could only handle fighting lower level monsters and killing a powerful being was a bit of a stretch, so training would have to do. "What kind of rigorous training?" Marco asked nervously. Glossaryck opened a portal with the gem from his forehead "Follow me." he said. Marco followed behind him and suddenly they were on a cliff overlooking a valley. Marco had to admit, it was a beautiful sight, but what was the purpose? "Why did you bring me here?" the boy asked. Glossaryck simply pointed across the valley to several figures flying around. "Are those... dragons?" Marco asked. Glossaryck nodded "The strongest beast alive, no matter what dimension you're from." this wasn't helping much for Marco's confidence "You still haven't answered my question, why did you bring me here?" he asked again. "Do you happen to know what dragon scales are made of?" Glossaryck asked. _Well that's a random question if I've ever heard one_ Marco thought. "No, I don't, why?" "They're made from solid stone, something that can only be penetrated by lightning." Glossaryck explained. "So what does this have to do with me?" Marco asked. "By the end of this month I want you to kill every last one of those dragons." Glossaryck said plainly. Marco was stunned, had he heard him right? "Kill them? All of them?" Marco repeated. "Yes, every last one. You wanted to become strong, what better way than to defeat one of the mightiest creatures in existence? You'll need to learn to wield lightning first though, the whole process should only take you two weeks if you rush your progress." Glossaryck stated. Marco had no idea how this would all turn out, but he'd do anything not to be a burden to star anymore. "Let's get to work then." Marco said confidently.

After training for the first day Marco was exhausted, he'd spent the better part of the last five hours doing intense physical workouts and beginning to learn how to channel magic through his body. He hadn't made any significant progress yet, but he knew he'd get there in time. He just had one question left for Glossaryck after they stepped through a portal back into his room "Why do I need to kill all those dragons? What'd they ever do to anyone?" Marco asked. Glossaryck sighed "You are a very curious one indeed. It's not so much what they've done, it has more to do with what they will do if left unattended. If left as they are now, they will become an incredible threat to you and the princess, I have no doubt Ludo will be looking for the strongest monsters and beasts to rally in his army. It is also a rite of passage, of some sort, for all lightning mages. If your lightning is strong enough to kill a dragon, then it can be counted among some of the greatest sorcery in the entire universe." Glossaryck explained. Marco found himself in awe over the fact that this was really happening, he couldn't believe that Glossaryck of all people was being so helpful in making him not useless. "Hey Glossaryck, before you go..." "Yes?" the blue man replied. "Thanks a lot, really, you don't know how much this means to me." Marco finished. Glossaryck just smiled and disappeared without another word, which was good because Marco really needed to get ready for bed. As soon as he stepped foot in the bathroom he was met with the worried face of star in her nightgown "Oh my gosh Marco where were you!" she yelled "I looked everywhere for you and I tried to call your cell phone, I thought you got captured again or something crazy!" she ran and hugged him "I was so worried." She mumbled into his chest. Marco rubbed the top of her head "I'm sorry star, I didn't mean to make you worry, I just needed to go do some stuff for a few hours, not a big deal." he said, trying his best to be comforting. She looked up at him with her big blue eyes, her worry and sadness coming straight through to make him feel like a jerk for not telling her where he was going. Her eyes eventually went back to their normal shape, coupled with a big smile only star could pull off. She leaned her head on his chest "I'm just glad you're safe Marco." she sighed contentedly. Marco was relieved on the inside, at least she didn't ask what he was doing, cause then he'd be in trouble. He hoped she would just drop the subject and go to bed. "So what was it that you needed to do?" she asked. _So much for that_ Marco thought. He knew it was shameful, but he wanted to keep this a secret, at least until she absolutely needed to know about it. He didn't need her finding out so she could get in the middle of it and star it all up. He never liked to lie, especially not to star, but just this once he decided to make an exception. "I was just walking around town you know? Swung by Jackie's house a few times but never managed to actually knock on the door to talk to her so, that sucks, but there's always tomorrow." Marco said nonchalantly. Star had gone back to the mirror to brush her teeth "Well I wish you good luck in your quest brave knight, for love is the true battlefield." she mused into her toothbrush. She turned to look at him and they both busted out laughing. Marco was holding his gut and star could barely keep herself propped up on the sink, they were almost crying, but when the insane laughter finally broke Marco started getting ready for bed too. He took his shirt off and started getting his toothbrush ready "Marco!" star shouted. "What?" he replied worriedly. "What happened to your chest?" she asked. He had no idea what she was talking about until he actually looked down. There was a burn mark from where Glossaryck had thrown a mini bolt of lightning at him on accident, trying to teach him the proper throwing technique. _Dang it Glossaryck, how am I going to explain this?!_ He internally screamed. Star was staring at him with that worrying face again, god he hated that face, he really didn't like to see her worry about anything, she was so innocent and she didn't need him adding to the stresses of her life. "W-well I kinda slipped and fell down a hill, my shirt came off and a patch of dirt hit me square in the chest, it's kinda stuck on there, but it'll probably go away after a little while." Marco tried to explain. "Are you ok though?" she asked. Marco smiled, that was all she really cared about. She never cared about his excuses or his reasons, she only really cared if he was happy and ok. "Yeah, I'm fine star, it's gonna take more than a hill to strike down the great, the powerful, MARCOOOOO DIAZZZZ!" he posed, flexing his muscles and star lost it. She was laughing so hard she thought her gut was going to burst. "Alright tough guy, as long as you're alright." she giggled. They both finished getting ready for bed and wished each other a goodnight, giving each other a big hug before they parted to their separate rooms. Marco passed out almost immediately, he had no idea how he was going to keep up with school, training, and lying to star for a whole two weeks, but he had to if he wanted to be stronger.

It was the fifth day of his training now, or rather, the fifth day of training was over. He had finally managed to summon up some lightning and he was a lot more impervious to it than before. There was no doubt he was making considerable progress, he was also toning his muscles very nicely thanks to the rough physical training. He found himself becoming less tired with each passing day, he was finally becoming accustomed to the way his body was exercising. He sauntered into the bathroom, ready to take a shower and get ready for bed, but star was there, like she always was. It seemed like their schedules were synced perfectly with each other, which made sense, usually when they came back from a long day of adventuring they tended to do everything else together too. "Any luck today?" she asked, still blissfully ignorant of the truth. "Nah, but I went all the way up to her door today." Marco said. "Oooooh makin progress marcooooo." she cooed. He laughed a little "Yeah I guess." he took his shirt off and suddenly star caught herself staring at his body. Usually she just did a once over to make sure he wasn't hurt or anything and maybe to peep a little bit at his developing body. She was a teenager after all, living with someone her age and of the opposite gender, but today she was full blown staring. His muscles were looking more defined and toned than usual, his chest was poking out a lot more and abs were beginning to take shape, his biceps and triceps were looking pretty nice too, she had to admit he was pretty darn sculpted. _Whoa butterfly, cool it, that's Marco over there. You can't be staring at him all hungry like that! He's your best friend!_ She screamed internally. But she couldn't bring herself to look away, he was very appealing, as much as she didn't want to admit it. Then something important caught her eye "Marco!" she yelled running over to him. "What?!" Marco was shocked at her sudden outburst. She grabbed his arm and lifted it between them "What happened to your arms?" she asked worriedly. His forearms were filled with cuts and bruises, his knuckles were rough and looked like he'd been fighting. She couldn't take her gaze off his arms now, she was too worried. "I just got into a little fight, nothing to worry about." he said. "It is something to worry about Marco! Your arms are all scraped up, tell me what happened!" she insisted. "It was just some thugs, they thought I made an easy target I guess, but I took care of them with my karate in no time flat." She still looked worried, she wouldn't let go of his arm. "Marco...?" she asked lightly. "Yeah star?" she paused for a moment and looked him in the eye "Is there something going on with you? You know you can talk to me about anything... right?" Marco couldn't help but feel bad, he wanted to tell her the truth, he really did, but he didn't want her to get upset because he thought she would mess it up. He really didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he couldn't back down on this now. "Star I'm fine, nothing is happening and nothing is wrong ok? It's all in your head I swear. I know you've got my back no matter what and I've got yours just the same, so trust me." the last part of his sentence stung his heart as he spoke it aloud. _But you shouldn't trust me, because I'm an idiot and a liar._ "Alright Marco, I trust you." she let his arm go, but she couldn't shake the feeling Marco wasn't telling her something. They said goodnight and Marco got in the shower, his mind filled with guilt over lying to his best friend.

"Alright boy, it's time to show me what you've learned." Glossaryck said. Marco breathed in deeply and breathed out through his mouth. His eyes opened and he started to channel the magic across his skin, covering his whole body in blue lightning. He extended his hands outward, a large bolt of lightning appearing in each of his hands, he gripped them as though they were physical objects, swinging them around as he would a blade. He cleaved a rock in two, then a tree, and threw the bolt straight at a boulder, blowing it up in the process. "Four trees, two seconds, go." Glossaryck said. He didn't even have time to finish his sentence before Marco had cleared the gap and chopped down four trees in the blink of an eye. It didn't take him anywhere near two seconds, more like two milliseconds. The boy had gotten a lot better since they had first started his training two weeks ago. His body was completely impervious to lightning and he could move faster than lightning as well. Not only that, but he could channel it throughout his whole body, making it stronger where he needed it as well as further augmenting some of his physical abilities. The greatest power he gained though, was to make bolts of lightning from thin air, he could hold them in his hands and they could do a variety of things. They could be wielded like blades, thrown like spears, they could even be used as whips or smashing tools if he willed it to be. Now would be the true test of the boy's strength. "Now, kill those dragons." Glossaryck commanded. Marco showed no fear or cowardice, his eyes filled with a new confidence and sense of purpose. This was a brand new Marco, the likes of which had never been seen before. He stood at the cliff side and formed a bolt in his hand, hurling it clear across the valley and striking one of the dragons in the head, killing it instantly. The other four dragons turned and flew in his direction at incredible speed. Marco didn't even flinch, he formed two more bolts in his hands and waited for them to come to him. When they were about a mile out Marco rushed to meet them, slicing one of their heads off without them even seeing what happened. The three remaining dragons turned their gazes, but he was already gone, plunging one of his bolts right into another's hide and sending it down to the valley floor. _Only two left._ Marco hurled his other bolt right through both of another dragon's wings, letting him fall as well. Only one dragon left, and it looked like it wanted to fly away, but Marco didn't intend to let it. Before the dragon even got a chance to consider retreat, Marco was already upon it, his lightning coated fist crashing into the dragon's skull and sending it to the valley floor with the rest. He appeared back on the cliff side, waiting for further instruction. "You did well my boy, you shouldn't be a burden to her any longer, though there is still room to improve, but that is a story for another day." Glossaryck riddled. They stepped through the portal back into his room like they always did, but this time it was different. There was no see you tomorrow, no good job today, no nothing. He stared at Glossaryck "I have taught you all that I know, but there is still more you must unlock on your own. See ya later kid." he said, vanishing into thin air. He wondered what else there was to learn, but at the same time he didn't really care, he was just glad he had gotten to a level where he could proudly say he would never be weak again.

 _The present_

Marco knew there was no way he could run away from this, he had to accept the fact that he lied and tell her everything straight up, like a man, but it would have to wait for later. Ludo stood in front of him, poised to attack, but retreating as well. He recognized the boy's power, he knew he had to be careful or risk an early grave. "So you possess magic now too eh?" Ludo questioned. "Sure do, sorry to disappoint you." Marco said sarcastically. Marco rushed forward with incredible speed, kicking Ludo square in the stomach and smashing him in the head with a lightning fist, sending him flying backwards through several gravestones. Ludo whined and picked himself up, but Marco was already on him, his shadow towering over the small monster. "Leave, before you really get hurt." Marco threatened. There was an oddly intimidating presence to him now, something Ludo had never gotten from him before. Star was so absorbed in thought she didn't even notice Ludo's spider had swiped her book of spells. "Star! Your book!" Jackie yelled. Star snapped out of her trance and ran after the spider, shooting narwhal blasts and cotton candy storms at it, but not managing to land a single hit. Her magic wasn't working right again, she had noticed by now that her wand was affected by her emotions and right now this Marco thing was really messing with her head. It was like he was a completely different person now, but just earlier today he acted like the same Marco she had always known. What had happened? Why hadn't he told her about this? Weren't they best friends? Didn't he promise her they would share everything? It was enough to put her off, the spider was getting away with her book of spells. "As you wish Marco." Ludo finally replied, giving him an evil laugh. Ludo was snatched away by his bird and he opened a portal for all three of them to go through. Marco couldn't let them get away, not with her book of spells, not with Glossaryck. He appeared in front of the portal, but they were already through and before he could stick his hand in, the portal had closed, leaving no trace of Ludo or his minions. "Dang it, they got away." he looked at star "I'm so sorry star, it's all my fault. I should've been faster, then they wouldn't have gotten away." Marco said remorsefully. "My book of spells." star said sadly "He took it and he took Glossaryck too." she was starting to cry now, all she could do was run to the place she found safest in the world, the place where she found nothing but comfort and peace of mind in her darkest of hours. She ran straight into Marco's arms. She hugged him tight and pressed her face into his chest, letting out choked sobs and drowning Marco's shirt with her tears. She tried to make sentences through her sobbing, but she could only get a syllable or two out and it would fall apart. Marco didn't have to understand her words to know what she was saying, she felt terrible for letting her spell book fall into the hands of Ludo, for letting all of her family's history and knowledge on magic, not to mention Glossaryck, be taken away from her without being able to put up much of a fight. He felt her pain, it was because he felt something similar at a time that he chose to gain these powers after all. Marco couldn't help but feel responsible somehow, if he had just been a little faster the whole outcome would be different. If he hadn't bolted in with his new display of magic it wouldn't have messed with stars head and she could've fought with a clear mind instead of her wand fizzling out on her. Star cried into Marco for what seemed like forever. She cried herself into exhaustion and, eventually, to sleep. Marco could feel she wasn't standing on her own anymore, she was leaning on him and her heart rate had decreased. She was breathing softly and she had stopped crying, so he knew she was out like a light. He picked her up like a bride "Hey Jackie, Janna, I'll see you guys at school tomorrow, I need to put star to bed." Jackie and Janna both nodded "Goodnight Marco." Jackie said, giving him a peck on the cheek. Janna was surprised, but she would find a better time to tease him about it. The girls walked away with a wave and Marco used his incredible speed to get him and star home in just a few moments. He leaped into her window, no sense in trying to walk through the whole house and explain what happened, he felt his own fatigue catching up with him. He placed star in her bed and pulled her blanket over her, tucking her in. "I'm so sorry star, this is all my fault. I swear I'll make it up to you somehow. We'll get your book back and show Ludo not to mess with us." he clenched his fist with anger and regret, berating himself for his own weakness. He looked at star, he never noticed before, on account of him not looking at star while she slept, but she looked adorable when she was sleeping, like she didn't have a care in the world. Looking at her now you would never guess she had all the problems she did, what with worrying about Ludo and stressing over having to become queen of Mewni one day. Marco touched her forehead "Goodnight star." he said, smiling. Marco made his way down the hall to his room, flopping down on the bed and immediately passing out, school was going to be a nightmare after a night like this.


	2. Tell me the truth

**Chapter 2: Tell me the truth**

 **A/N: Quick not before this chapter starts. This is a starco story most definitely, but it is going to be jarco for a little bit before anything happens between them. Trust me, its gonna kill me too. Anyhow, thanks for reading my story, enjoy!**

Marco woke up to the sound of his alarm, it was time to get ready for school. He turned his alarm off, but instead of getting up all he could do was lay there and stare at the ceiling. _So much happened yesterday, I hope star's ok_ he thought. He knew she was a tough girl, but even star had to have her limit. He sat up with a sigh and walked into the bathroom. Like any other morning, star was there getting ready for school. Marco stared at her from the doorway "Good morning star." He said. She turned and gave him a weak smile "Good morning Marco." She returned. He could see that her smile wasn't genuine, it was definitely still bothering her. "Star can we talk ab-." "You should get ready for school, I know you don't want to be late." She interrupted. She had this far off look in her eye, almost as if she was just running on autopilot. Marco couldn't think of anything to say, she walked right past him and out the door. He thought about chasing her down, but he figured he'd just talk to her later when they had more time. He sighed and got in the shower _what am I going to do?_ He wondered. He washed himself off and brushed his teeth, the whole time trying to find a way to sort the whole mess out, but came up with nothing. After he got dressed it was 20 minutes before class would start. Usually he liked to be there super early so he could prepare for Jackie, but everything was off today, he didn't even really care about school at all, he just wanted to make star feel better. He jumped out of his window, using his magic to carry him to school in seconds. It seemed like he was there before star too, she wasn't at her locker like normal. "Marco!" he heard a gentle voice say from down the hallway. She was rolling around on her skateboard like always, and she was just as amazing as the day he'd first seen her back in third grade. Jackie Lynn Thomas, his crush of 7 years. Something had changed about their relationship ever since the sleepover all that time ago. After Marco admitted his feelings, something inside Jackie just clicked, she started to see Marco as a man rather than the safe boy she always knew. They started stopping more to talk in the mornings and having conversations at lunch too, they were even on a regular texting basis now, it was more than Marco ever could have hoped for a few months ago. As much of a man as he was though, Jackie knew Marco would never make the first move. He was shy, but she found that incredibly adorable about him. The date last night was amazing, all monsters and magic aside, so Jackie figured she'd take the next step ahead. She just hoped she got to tell Marco before anyone else talked to him about it. She rolled up to him and kicked her skateboard into her hand "Hey there Jackie, what's up?" he greeted. She took her helmet off "Well, I wanted to talk to you about something. Our date went really well last night, except for the whole monster bit at the end, right?" she asked. Marco nodded his head, that was probably the best day of his life so far. "Well…" she was blushing, Marco noticed she was twirling her hair with her fingers and she wouldn't look at him directly. "I did a thing." She said simply. Marco smiled "A thing huh? And what would that be?" he asked. Marco noticed everyone was staring at them and whispering to each other. _What are they saying?_ He wondered. Some cheerleaders were even off in the corner giggling. Whatever it was, it seemed like everyone but Marco knew about it. "Uh, Jackie? You mind telling me what's going on here?" Marco asked. Jackie was still looking flustered, but she had to let him know eventually. "Well, I kinda already told everyone we're a couple." She admitted. Marco blushed _a couple? Me and Jackie?_ His mind started to wander as he thought about all the things couples did together. They went on dates, hung out all the time, hugged, kissed, and… other things. That last thought made Marco's face burn red hot. How many times had he imagined doing those… things, with Jackie Lynn Thomas? Now it was a possibility if they stayed together long enough. His mind escaped into more graphic detail and he didn't even notice his pants started growing. Jackie did though, and even though it was embarrassing she stepped in front of Marco to block it so no one saw. "Hello? Earth to Marco?" she said. "What? Oh, sorry, I got lost in thought for a minute." He admitted. She smirked "What kinds of thoughts were you having Marco?" she asked, pointing down at his twitching zipper. Marco's blush came back in full force "I… uh… that's not what you think Jackie." He tried. "So what is it then? You gonna tell me you were hiding a banana in your pocket?" she giggled. "Exactly! See you know what's up." he laughed nervously. "You mean your thing Marco?" she asked seductively. Marco never knew Jackie was this… intense. In his head she was cool, calm, and sweet, but she was so much more and it was showing. "I'll take it as a complement, but I want you to know Marco, we won't be doing those things for a while, I'm not that kind of girl." She stated. Marco nodded "No I know that, it's just my imagination goes crazy on me sometimes, thinking about a beautiful girl like you." he said. She smiled "Well now that you understand me, I want you to understand something else." She said. She turned around and backed up, pushing Marco's thing up with her butt. Marco groaned, but only loud enough for her to hear. "Jackie what-" "Shhh." She interrupted. She started moving her butt up and down, grinding against the outside of Marco's zipper. Marco was moaning, but he quickly covered his mouth and closed his eyes, this was too much. "We may not do those things for a while, but I'm still gonna tease you Marco." She whispered. She stopped grinding against him and turned to face him. "Well I hope I'm allowed to do the same." He flirted, putting his hands on her hips. She giggled and loosely draped her arms around his neck "You can try." She taunted. _This confidence he has now is really hot_ she thought. It was funny, just yesterday was their first kiss and now it was like they were playing chicken for who would be the first one to make a move in their new relationship. Marco decided that for the first time in his life, it was gonna be him. He swooped down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Jackie was caught off guard, she never expected Marco to be so bold, but damn if she wasn't about to enjoy it. She shut her eyes and melted into the kiss, tightening her hold around Marco's neck. Jackie's lips were so warm and soft, Marco never needed to taste another set of lips to know these ones were the best. Maybe waiting for something did make it so much sweeter. He had been this bold already, so, why not go a little further? His hands slid from her waist down to her butt and he gave it a little squeeze, causing her to jump a little and yelp into their kiss. He could feel her smiling as she came back for more kisses and he grabbed a handful this time, causing her to moan instead. This feeling was intoxicating, hearing her moan and yelp in response to the things he was doing, knowing he was giving her pleasure was the greatest feeling in the world. That was, until the school bell rang for first period. They broke their little make out session instantly. "Oh crap! Marco we only have like three minutes to get to class!" Jackie said. Their class was easily halfway across the school grounds, no way they'd make it in time. She gave Marco a look of remorse "I'm sorry I made you late Marco, I know you always like to be on time." She said. He touched her face "Yeah I do, but it's worth being late if I'm spending time with you silly." He said, smiling. She smiled softly, he was so sweet. "But we aren't going to be late either." He stated. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Well I do move faster than lightning you know." He laughed. Jackie instantly felt stupid, how could she not remember that? It had literally happened last night and she had forgotten about it already. "Thats right, you use lightning magic now don't you?" she giggled "You get more impressive each day Marco." Marco blushed "I'm nothing special, but we should get to class." Jackie stopped him "Before we do though, can I put my board and stuff in your locker?" she asked. "Sure." Marco said. He opened his locker and she put her things inside. After closing his locker Marco swept Jackie off her feet, bridal style, and took off toward the classroom. He made it there in a fraction of a second, all Jackie could remember was being picked up and suddenly they were in front of the classroom door. "Whoa." she said. "Yeah, it comes in pretty handy sometimes, especially when I'm fighting monsters." Marco stated. "I bet." she giggled. He let her down but she kept one arm around his neck, the other rubbing his chest. "My hero." she kissed him and entered the classroom, taking the seat next to his like always. When he entered the classroom he saw star sitting in her seat, she was staring out the window with the same far off look in her eye from before. Marco sighed and sat in his seat, while he was off having fun with Jackie star was still suffering and there was still nothing he could do about it. He felt so bad, not just about the book and Glossaryck, but about not telling her about his training and his powers. He could've told her right after his training was over with, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings so he figured it would just be his little secret. All that went out the window the second he knew she was in trouble though, there was no way he was going to sit by and be useless, never again. Jackie passed him a note. 'Why're you so far away?' he smiled and wrote on it 'You're literally right next to me.' he drew a laughing face next to it and passed it back. He got the note back a minute later 'Thats not close enough.' she had drawn a kissy face next to it.

The first half of the day went by pretty fast, Marco and Jackie were passing each other notes during all their classes and none of the lessons seemed too hard, not to mention it was Friday so the day seemed to fly by. The bell sounded for lunch and all the students flooded into the halls. Jackie managed to find Marco in the sea of people "Hey Marco you wanna have lunch together?" she asked. He really did want to have lunch with her, but he was more worried about star than anything else, she had been in the back of his mind all day. She hadn't talked to anyone since the day started, she barely talked to him on her way out of the house this morning. He knew she was broken inside, she probably wanted to cry her eyes out all day long, but Marco had taught her a long time ago that it was a rule of thumb never to cry at school. Of course that led to him having to explain what a rule of thumb was and it was a whole gigantic mess, but she eventually understood. In the entire time he'd known her star had never been this antisocial or quiet, and that was saying something for all the things they had gone through together. He held her hands "I'd love to Jackie, but I need to talk to star. Something is seriously wrong with her and I need to know what it is." he explained. She nodded "Do whatever you need to do Marco, I know she's really important to you." Jackie said. Marco smiled, he was glad she was so understanding. "Thanks a lot Jackie." he gave her a quick kiss and ran off to find star.

After bolting around the campus for about two minutes he found her sitting alone on the roof of the gym. He flew up there and stood behind her, not sure of what to say. She knew he was there, but she didn't say anything either. They stood in each others company completely silent, this was a delicate situation and Marco wanted to handle it carefully. "Star I was serious about what I said last night, we'll get your book back and Glossaryck too, you don't need to beat yourself up over it." Marco said. She huffed "You really think thats all this is Marco?" she asked. She stood up and turned to face him "I cried over that last night, I know I can get my book back no problem, but this morning I woke up and realized that my supposed "best friend" lied to me!" she yelled. "Star listen-" "No YOU listen Marco" she interrupted "You told me we could share anything and everything with each other, you told me we were best friends, you told me there wouldn't be any secrets between us, but then out of nowhere you show up using magic lightning? Are you serious Marco?" she screamed. Marco didn't know what to say, she was completely right to feel this way, he had lied to her and it was clear he had hurt her, but he didn't know what to do to make it better. "Star just let me explain." he said. "There isn't anything to explain Marco, you lied and now nothing will ever be the same. From now on I'll always have to question our trust, what kind of best friends need to do that?" tears were streaming down her face, but she didn't know why, she was more angry than sad right now. Marco stepped closer, he wanted to hug her and ask for forgiveness, to promise that this would be the first and last time he would ever do something like this. She backed away "Don't you dare come near me!" she screamed furiously "You're nothing but a liar and a promise breaker!" she had to bite her lip to keep from sobbing, there was no way she could be rational right now, she needed to go home and think. She jumped off the roof and ran as far and as fast as she could away from Marco, she couldn't even look at him right now without feeling incredible anguish in her heart. Marco was stunned, he had never seen star so upset before. He could see the hurt in her eyes, the hurt that was caused by having someone you trusted so much in the world make you feel like you couldn't be trusted. He had done this to her, made her insecure and unstable with just one lie. _Thats how much our friendship means to her_ he thought. He was tempted to cry himself, but he couldn't let it happen right now. He decided he'd talk to her later tonight like he had initially planned, maybe some time to cool off was something they both needed.

Marco met Jackie in the cafeteria, lunchtime was almost over, but he wanted to spend what little time was left with his girlfriend. "Hey Jackie." he said plainly, sitting down next to her. She had known him long enough to know the face when something was bothering him "Whats wrong Marco?" she asked, hugging his arm. He leaned his head on hers "I don't know, star is really upset that I didn't tell her about my magic. She's upset that I lied and I'll admit she has every right to be, but I wish I could just explain why so we could get this whole mess sorted out you know? She screamed at me and ran off crying, I think she went home, judging from the direction she was heading in." Marco explained. "Maybe you just need to come out and tell it like it is Marco, sometimes being brutally honest is better than trying to sugarcoat it." she said. He sighed "Yeah, you're probably right Jackie, I'm just not used to dealing with stuff like this I guess." he said. "It'll be alright Marco, I'm sure that as your best friend she'll understand where you're coming from and you guys will get past this no problem." Jackie encouraged. Marco smiled "Thanks, you know just what to say to make me feel better." he kissed her "And you know just how to be sweet without even realizing it." she said. "Mind if I walk you to your next class beautiful?" he asked. "Don't you want something to eat first?" Jackie asked. "Nah, this whole thing kinda blew my appetite, lets go." he said. She threw her food out and he laced their fingers together. They walked casually down the hallway holding hands just like a normal couple. "You know before this morning, I'd never really noticed, but you have a pretty big butt." Marco stated. Jackie busted out laughing "What?" Marco asked "That was so random dude." she said, still giggling. "I'm just saying!" Marco defended. "Relax dork, thanks for the compliment." she kissed his cheek. "You know before this morning I never knew you had such a big thing tucked away in those jeans." she said nonchalantly. Marco blushed "Well I don't know about big, but uh..." he trailed off. She giggled "You're so cute when you're embarrassed." she said. "Yeah yeah, have your fun picking on poor ole me." Marco fake cried. Jackie laughed "Isn't that the point of a relationship? To have someone you can play with and do awesome stuff with?" Jackie asked. "Yeah, someone you can trust and tell everything to. Someone you really connect with." Marco said. He knew it too, the best relationships were never serious, just look at his mom and dad, they never grew tired of each other and they had been together for almost twenty years now. "You know, I am your girlfriend now." Jackie stated. "I know, I still can't believe it. Me, THE Jackie Lynn Thomas is dating ME." Marco said. She giggled "Well I'm nobody special, but dating someone comes with special privileges doesn't it?" she asked. "I guess so, never really had a girlfriend before so I don't know what those are." Marco admitted. "Well its different for everyone, some people only cross certain boundaries after certain milestones, but some just let things come naturally." she explained. "I don't think I really need to have any boundaries, all I ever really expect is loyalty and honesty, other than that you can do whatever you want with me." he said. "Well with me you can expect lots of kisses, hugs, cuddles, dates, and having a pretty cool time anywhere we go." she said "Plus some... other things." Marco was curious "What sorts of other things?" he asked. "For starters..." she unraveled their hands and put his hand on her butt "You can touch my big butt whenever you want." she whispered. "W-what are the other things?" he asked excitedly. "Well, I might send you things on your phone sometimes, whenever I feel like it." she flirted. Marco squeezed her butt and Jackie bit her lip "I'm probably going to be abusing this privilege the most." he admitted. She giggled "I figured as much." before they knew it they were at her class and the bell was ready to ring. "Well, I'll see you after school Jackie." he said. "See ya later... babe." Jackie said. They leaned in and kissed, wrapping their arms around each other and hugging after they parted. Marco sped off to his class, eager to get the day done with.

The rest of the day went by pretty slow compared to the first half. His classes seemed to drag on forever, he couldn't tell if it was the anticipation of walking Jackie home or the nerves of having his confrontation with star later, either way it was killing him, he couldn't even pay attention most of the time. He had gotten caught not listening twice and almost caught a suspension for it. When the bell rang and school was over Marco ran to Jackie's class, she was waiting just outside the door for him. "Hey babe, what took you so long?" she giggled. "Girl please, I'm fast and you know it." he joked. She grabbed his hand and started walking. "You mind if I come over today?" she asked "I could really use some help with my homework." Marco shook his head "I really need to sort this mess with star out tonight, maybe tomorrow." he said. Jackie frowned, she really wanted to spend some time with Marco, but she understood, this situation had to be killing him all day long. Knowing that your best friend was mad at you was never an easy thing to deal with. "Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked. He sighed "I dunno Jackie, its a lot. You might get bored." he stated. She hugged his arm "Couples are supposed to share their problems and feelings with each other, I really want to help if something is bothering you Marco." she said sincerely. Marco was touched, she sounded like she actually wanted to listen. "Well, it started when we got back from this crazy adventure..." he explained everything to her, the start of his training, the constant lying because he thought she'd mess it up if she found out, and about not telling star even after his training was over because he didn't want to hurt her feelings. "Oh Marco. Poor, sweet, stupid Marco." Jackie joked. He laughed "Thanks Jackie." he said sarcastically. "You had to know nothing good was going to come of lying for one. And for two, you need to have more faith in her Marco. She means well, I'm sure if you just let her know it was important to you she wouldn't have interfered." Jackie explained. Jackie was right, he felt like an incredible jerk for not thinking of all that beforehand. He put his face in his free hand "I'm so stupid, I can't believe I didn't think about this before I made such a dumb decision." he said. She started rubbing his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder "It's ok Marco, we all make mistakes sometimes, I'm sure she'll forgive you. I completely understand you just wanted to spare her feelings, but sometimes you can make things worse by assuming someone else's feelings." Jackie stated. Jackie was so smart and helpful, Marco couldn't believe he had never seen this side of her before. "Thanks for the help Jackie, I mean it. It was really cool of you to listen and give me advice." Marco said. "Well what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't silly?" she smiled. After another five minutes they were at Jackie's front door "Well, I guess I'll pick you up for school tomorrow?" Marco asked. "Tomorrow is Saturday Marco." she laughed, pushing a free strand of hair behind her ear. "Right," Marco laughed nervously. He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her into a kiss. One of her arms rested on his chest and the other was hooked around his neck, he slowly moved one of his hands to her butt and gave it a rough grope, making her moan right into his mouth. The two made out for awhile before realizing they needed to breathe. They parted just enough to get some air "You really are going to abuse that privilege huh?" she panted "I told you so." he said, smiling. They kissed each other one final time before Marco turned and waved goodbye.

Star sat alone in her room, as she had been for the past four hours since she decided to take a half day from school. At first she had been pacing around, but now she was just sitting on her bed, super depressed about the way things had gone down with Marco earlier in the day. She knew she overreacted, what with all the screaming and the crying, but she couldn't help it. She was really hurt that Marco didn't tell her about something important like this. She thought Marco was the one person in the world she could trust, she thought they shared a bond so deep they didn't have to hide things, but now she was second guessing herself. _What did I do to make him think he couldn't trust me?_ She wondered. She wanted to know why this had happened so badly, she just wanted things to go back the way they were before, but she didn't even know if that was possible now. She hadn't just freaked out on Marco, she had called him names and emasculated him too. "I wish I wouldn't have freaked out on him so hard, I should've just told him how I felt and we could've worked it out, but now I don't really know whats going to happen. I can't even look at him without going all crazy and freaking out." she sighed and laid back on her bed, what was she going to do about all of this? She heard a knock on her door "Star? Can we talk?" Marco asked. "Come in." she said. Marco opened the door, shutting it behind him. He stepped forward into the room, but stopped halfway to her bed. He didn't know why he was so afraid to come near her, he just felt like she didn't want him there in the first place so he shouldn't push it. "Look, about what happened, can you just hear me out?" he asked. Star didn't even look at him, she just sat at the edge of her bed, hugging a pillow and staring at the floor. "Look I'm just going to be up front with you, I didn't lie to you because I didn't think I could trust you star, that was never it, I just didn't want to tell you because..." he hesitated, he really didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he knew he had to speak up otherwise their friendship would be lost forever. "Because what Marco?" star asked softly. "Because... because I didn't want you to get in the middle of it." he admitted "I thought that if I told you you'd want to come with and make an adventure out of it and I just wanted to focus on my training." star didn't know how to feel about what he said, on one hand she was happy that he did trust her after all, but on the other hand she was sad because he thought she was a screw up. "I'm an idiot star, I admit it and I'm sorry." he balled his fists and stared at the ground "I shouldn't have assumed you would mess it up before I even gave you the chance to prove me wrong and I should've had a lot more faith in you as your best friend." he sounded genuinely remorseful, star could definitely tell he felt bad, she was starting to herself "I know I'm kind of a screw up Marco, but if it was really important to you I would've tried my hardest to give you your space." star said. "Yeah, I know, I should've thought about it before I made a stupid decision like that, I'm really sorry star." he said. They sat in silence for a moment, but soon something started to eat at Marco, like something was welling up inside his chest. "You aren't a screw up star, and I really hope you don't think I view you that way." he said. Star looked up from the floor and stared at him "We all make mistakes sometimes, but that doesn't define who we are. If anything, mistakes make us stronger for the experience." he said "Honestly, I don't even think that was the real reason I kept it from you, I think I just... I just wanted to be something you were amazed by for once. I mean, you're this magical princess from another dimension and you can do all this awesome stuff, but I was just some random earthling who happened to be lucky enough to cross paths with you." he said. He was blushing now, the real feelings were coming out. Star finally stood and spoke up "I'm sorry too Marco. I shouldn't have freaked out and said all those mean things to you, I didn't mean any of them, I just wanted to hurt you so you felt as bad as I did." she admitted "I mean, you, my best friend, not telling me something this important? That really hurts me Marco! You didn't even think you could trust me not to be an idiot just this once!" she yelled. Since they were being honest, she figured she'd get out her frustrations too. "Star I never meant to make you feel that way, I just didn't want to hurt your feelings." he said. "Well too late Diaz! You messed that all up the second you decided to hide things from me and break our trust!" she shouted "What happened to our bond Marco?" she asked shakily. He could see the tears starting to well up in her eyes "I thought we had something special, something unbreakable. I thought we trusted each other with any and everything, isn't that what you said?" she choked. He stepped toward her but she backed away, just like before "Yeah I did, and I really meant it star, I would trust you with any and everything." he said. "Then why did you lie to me!" she screamed, throwing her pillow at him. She was full blown crying now "Because I made a mistake star!" he yelled "And I really am sorry, I would go back and do everything differently if I could, but I can't!" he stepped toward her again, but she stepped away again too "I don't even know why you needed to go and learn magic anyway Marco! Its not like we can't handle ludo on our own!" she yelled back. "More like you can handle ludo on YOUR own!" he shouted. That stopped star dead in her tracks _What did he just say?_ "Come on star, we all know you basically beat these monsters and ludo on your own! My karate barely did anything against those things. I was sick of you always having to come and save me because I wasn't strong enough to do anything on my own. I wanted to be more like you star. I wanted to be strong and confident in myself, I wanted to know I could actually help you instead of being in the way all the time, that was the only reason I did any of this, it was all for us." he said softly. Marco felt like he was ready to cry too, there was no way star would ever forgive him for this. He made her cry and hurt her feelings so badly, he wasn't even worthy of forgiveness at this point. He saw her rushing toward him, she was probably going to beat him to death for being such an idiot. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to come, but all he could feel was her face and her fists resting on his chest. She balled into his hoodie, hitting him with the bottoms of her fists so lightly he could barely feel it. "You idiot." she choked "You didn't have to do all that just for me." Marco wrapped his arms around her, he felt the tears stinging at his eyes too, so he let them go freely and cried with her.

After awhile they both stopped crying, deciding instead to hold each other in a tender embrace. "I really am sorry star, for everything. I know it doesn't mean much now, but I promise I won't ever lie to you again. From now on I mean what I said before, any and everything for as long as I live." he said. She smiled "I forgive you dummy, you just made a mistake this time. As far as I'm concerned, our friendship hasn't changed at all." she said. "You don't know what it means to hear you say that star." he admitted. She pulled away from him "We do have to renew our promise though don't we? So here goes. For as long as I live I promise to tell my bestie any and everything. To share all secrets and solve all our problems together." she spoke in a powerful tone of voice. She raised her pinky "Marco Diaz, do you pinky promise?" she asked. He didn't even have to hesitate, he kneeled and locked his pinky finger with hers "I pinky promise." he said. "Than it shall be so." she said, laughing. "So dramatic star." he laughed. "Well you know me Marco, I always have to be a little extra." she winked. "Yeah, star wouldn't be star without a little flare." he said. Marco was really happy they had managed to work through this, he didn't know what he was going to do if she didn't forgive him. Star was really happy too, she didn't know if her feelings were going to let her forgive Marco, but in the end he gave her a really good reason to, not that she needed one in the first place. "Well, its getting pretty late, we should probably start getting ready for bed." Marco suggested. "Yeah you're right." star said. Marco went to his room to change into his pajama bottoms and star changed into her night gown. They met in the bathroom to brush their teeth. The entire time all star could look at was Marco's smokin hot bod, she even had to look away a few times to avoid being caught. _I may have been mad at him for wanting to hide his training from me, but I certainly won't complain about the eye candy._ She thought. She had to mentally slap herself, she really needed to stop having these thoughts about Marco. When they finished brushing their teeth Marco started to walk towards the door "Well goodnight, see you tomorrow morning." he said. "Wait!" star said. Marco looked back with a curious look in his eyes "Well, I was just thinking um..." star was blushing, she didn't know how to propose this without sounding weird. "What?" Marco chuckled "Spit it out star, we promised to tell each other everything remember?" her blush deepened _Of course I remember you idiot!_ "Well I was wondering if you'd spend the night with me." she finally said. Marco was caught off guard _Can I even do that? I mean Jackie is my girlfriend, is that something you're allowed to do when you have a girlfriend? It should be ok as long as nothing happens right?_ He was struggling trying to decide within himself, but eventually he decided there was nothing wrong with it, its not like anything was going to happen between them anyway. Marco smiled "Sure, just like a sleepover." he said. They walked to her room and Marco stood by her bed, waiting for her to conjure him up a sleeping bag or something. Instead she just slipped into bed, looking at him "Well? What're you waiting for dummy, climb in." star said. Marco blushed hard "What? In your bed? I thought I was going to be sleeping in a sleeping bag or something!" Marco said. She giggled "Whats the matter Marco? Too nervous to sleep in a bed with a girl?" she teased. Marco sighed and climbed in, pulling the blanket over himself. Star wrapped her arms around his midsection, resting her head on his chest and cuddling him. Marco was flustered, he had no idea what to do. He wrapped his arm around her carefully and pulled her close. "Thanks for this Marco." she said "I've had a really rough day and having you here with me makes me feel so much better. I think I might actually be able to have a calm sleep tonight." she admitted. "No problem star, anything I can do to help." he said. Marco smiled, he really did enjoy her company, especially when they had these little peaceful moments like this. He laid there for a few minutes, eventually he felt her breathing become slower and she started mumbling, she was asleep. "Marco..." she whispered, suddenly a smile played across her face and she snuggled up to him even more. _Must be having a good dream, and about me no less_ the thought was enough to make him blush, but he soon fell asleep, content that the bond he shared with star remained untouched.


	3. Take me somewhere

**Chapter 3: Take me somewhere**

 **A/N: Hey guys, just wanted to pop a quick little note in here to let you know that I won't be writing in the current episodes that are going on, I will however make sure that they are referenced or mentioned somehow so that the story stays kept up with the canon. As of starting this chapter, I just finished watching 'Bounce lounge' and it will kind of have an influence on this chapter too. That is all, enjoy!**

Marco could feel the sun's rays washing over him through the window. He yawned and opened his eyes, soon realizing he wasn't in his bedroom. He felt something warm shifting around next to him. _Oh, that's right_ he thought. He was starting to remember the events from the night before. He remembered him and star cuddling, but had it really gotten this bad while they were sleeping? They were hugged up together now, her face was flush against his chest and her legs were tangled around his left. Marco could feel something else too, something on his knee, like a piece of cloth _the hem of her night gown is on my thigh though_. The realization hit him slowly, but with great force. His knee was rubbing against her panties.

His face burned bright red _how did my leg even get like that!_ He wondered. He had to find a way out of this situation, but he also didn't want to disturb her sleep. She had gone through so much in such a little amount of time, she deserved this. Marco calmed down and relaxed into her, letting himself feel comfortable. He could feel her chest rising and falling against his stomach, her heart was beating slowly and she was unusually quiet. Marco couldn't help but feel at peace in this moment. With star, his life had become something completely different than it ever had been before, there were so many monsters and life threatening situations all the time, it was easy to forget that there were little moments like this, little moments he could spend with star, away from it all.

 _She's so adorable when she's sleeping_ he thought. He felt like it was wrong for him to think like that about her, but he had been for quite a while. He could never say he wasn't interested in her, at least a little bit. She was cute, funny, brave, strong, caring, honest, the list went on for miles. If Jackie wouldn't have said something when she did Marco was honestly ready to give up on her and pursue something with star. _But I'm with Jackie now, so I can't be thinking like that anymore._ He thought. Regardless, he would always remain by star's side, as her loyal friend and trusted bestie. He smiled and laid there, cuddling with her. About twenty minutes later he felt her start to stir underneath him.

As soon as she woke up she could feel the thick piece of muscle wrapped up in her arms. Her heart fluttered _Marco…_ she had to admit, it felt amazing waking up to him like this _he's so warm and soft, I could get used to this…_ the thought was enough to make her blush, these thoughts really needed to go away, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to enjoy this for now. She yawned and pulled him closer, nuzzling into his chest. "Mornin Marco." she said happily. He blushed "Mornin star, how ya feelin?" he asked. "Pretty darn great, got a great night's sleep thanks to a certain someone." she flirted. She immediately caught herself on it, she just hoped Marco didn't.

"What can I say, I do make for a pretty good sleepover buddy." he boasted. Star was irritated a little on the inside _can he really not tell I was flirting?_ She wondered _Wait why am I flirting? I can't be doing that! We're besties, we even said so last night_ she confirmed. "Yeah..." she laughed nervously. "I was waiting for you to wake up, but now I should probably go get ready, Jackie said she was coming over today." Marco said. Star tightened her grip, she really didn't want him to go "Aw come on, just five more minutes?" she asked, giving him the puppy dog eyes. He laughed "No star, I really need to go get my clothes on and stuff. I mean, Jackie is my girlfriend after all, I wanna look my best." he said.

To him that sentence was nothing, but to star, it was everything. "Wait what did you just say?" she asked. "Oh yeah, I didn't get the chance to tell you cause we were fighting yesterday, but Jackie basically told everyone at school we're boyfriend and girlfriend now." Marco explained, smiling. Star's grip on him softened _they're... together?_ A hundred and one thoughts raced around in her mind, what did this mean for their friendship? What did it mean for their adventures and hang out time? More importantly, what did it mean for times like this? For sleepovers and friendship Thursdays? What about their tradition of getting breakfast burritos on weekend mornings?

Marco slipped out of her bed and started walking to the door "Wait, Marco, what about our breakfast burritos?" star asked, it was Saturday after all. "We'll go get some, I just gotta call Jackie and see when she wants to come over." he said. He walked out of the room and left star with so many questions. More than anything, she wondered why this was bothering her so much. This had happened on the night at the graveyard too, she was so focused on Marco going on a date with Jackie, she could barely pay attention to what she was doing. She even went so far as to spy on them and accidentally interfere.

She shook her head and slapped her cheeks "What's wrong with me?" she got up and changed into her teal green rainbow dress with rainbow stockings and dinosaur boots. After she put her horns on she sat down on her bed again, it was still really bothering her how troubled she was by Marco's new relationship. _This is a good thing! Marco has been after her for years and now she finally feels the same way, I'm really happy for him, but..._ her thoughts drifted off. Maybe it was like she said the night she had that sleepover, when they played truth or punishment _your head and your heart don't always agree_ she thought _so does that mean my head is happy for him, but my heart is upset by it? Do I have feelings for Marco and I just can't admit it?_ She wondered.

Marco came back into her room wearing his trademark jeans and hoodie "Alright lets go get us some breakfast burritos!" Marco yelled with enthusiasm. "Yeah!" star shouted back. They ran out of the house to their favorite breakfast burrito spot, star figured her feelings could wait until later, for now, she'd enjoy spending time with Marco.

After they munched down on their burritos it was time to head home "Whew, those were some good burritos." Marco said. Star smiled "Like always." the entire way home star asked about his new powers, how he got them, anything to keep him from focusing too hard on her while she was lost in thought. Eventually they made it home and Jackie was waiting outside the door. "Jackie!" Marco ran and gave her a kiss. Star felt like she was going to explode "Well you two have fun! I'm going to go... uh... practice my magic or something, see ya later Marco!" she shouted. Bolting through the door and up to her room. "Star!" Marco yelled after her _what's gotten into her?_ He wondered.

Visual confirmation was the worst kind, when Marco kissed her star felt like someone just punched her in the gut. She smiled and covered her face with her hand _Guess it's time to admit it, I definitely like that goof ball._ It wasn't like she couldn't see why, he was funny, caring, cute, he had a hot bod, he was a bit overprotective, but he meant well. Above all he was someone she knew she could count on, someone who would be there for her through everything, no matter what. Ever since a few months ago she felt these sorts of things popping into her mind. She would check Marco out when he wasn't looking, enjoy his cuddles and hugs for longer than normal, she even started having dreams about Marco that were very... revealing.

Up until now she was content with denying it and chalking it up to her hormones or something, but she couldn't keep running from the truth. Maybe she didn't want to admit her feelings because she didn't know if Marco felt the same, he definitely couldn't now, he was in a relationship with Jackie. So what could she do? It was too late to tell Marco she had a thing for him and it wasn't like it was just going to go away, not with all the time they spent together. Would she just have to deal with it? Spend her whole life falling for a man who could never be hers? She shook her head _No, that's not how the anarchy princess does things._ She thought. There had to be some way to get this to turn out the way she wanted, some way to get him to fall in love with her, not Jackie.

Star pondered the thought for a few minutes, but all she could come up with were devious ways to drive them apart. Though the ideas were tempting, star knew she couldn't earn his love that way, maybe she would just have to do it the good ol fashioned way, with her heart and actions. _You can get someone to love you back by just loving them, right?_ She wondered. The thought warmed her heart _of course you can, this is Marco we're talking about after all_ she smiled. Marco was one of the most loving people she knew, he gave his heart to anyone who would accept it. Star decided to let the subject be until another time, right now something else needed her attention. She began casting the spying spell, it was time to find Glossaryck.

Marco and Jackie made their way up to Marco's room, sitting down on his bed. "I wonder what that was about." Marco said. Jackie shrugged her shoulders "Maybe she was anxious to leave us alone, not that I'm complaining." she said seductively. She wrapped herself around Marco's arm, letting her small breasts brush against him. He blushed "Trust me I'm not either, it's just a little out of the ordinary to see her rush off like that." he said. "I don't know, I'm just glad you guys managed to patch things up, you looked miserable yesterday." she said. "Was it really that obvious?" he asked. "Oh yeah." she laughed. He laughed nervously "Didn't know I was that transparent." he said. "To me you are." she giggled.

"Hey you want something to drink?" Marco asked. "Nah, I'm good." she replied. "Hungry?" he asked. "Nope, I ate before I came over." she explained. Marco was stumped, he didn't have too many encounters with girls so he didn't know what things to talk about. "Oh hey, do you wanna watch a movie or something? I'm sure just sitting here chatting will make you bored of me super quick." he suggested. "Actually that sounds pretty cool, just sitting here and talking." she said. "About what?" he asked. "Anything, like, tell me about your life and the things you like, I wanna really get to know you Marco." she said.

She stared into his eyes, he could tell she wasn't lying, she genuinely wanted to get to know him better. He sat cross legged on the bed across from her. They started talking about their childhood memories, when they first met, their first impressions of each other. They got deep into all their interests and things they liked to do, turned out Jackie was really into pirate stuff, who knew? It was a really eye opening experience for Marco, apparently Jackie had viewed him the same their entire lives. She always saw him as a safe kid with an attitude that wouldn't let him give up. "It's like any time something pushed you down or made you look stupid, you always came back to overcome it and make yourself stronger for the experience." she said. She looked away, her eyes filled with a warm glow "I've always admired that about you Marco..." she said wistfully.

She was blushing, Marco knew it must not have been easy for her to say all that, she was really exposing her true colors. "Well, for as long as I can remember you've been that cool as a sea cucumber skater girl." Marco said. Jackie cracked up laughing "Sea cucumber? Really Marco? You're so cheesy." she laughed. He smiled "Well you know what I mean. You're always so calm and collected. You're cute and funny and I have to admit, I've always adored this little strand of sea green hair you have, it reminds me of the ocean." he said, stroking her green lock of hair. Jackie blushed "Another thing I've always really liked is this seashell you always wear, it's so you, but I don't even know why you wear it." he said. Jackie looked away "You're gonna think it's stupid." she said.

He touched her cheek and pulled her gaze to meet his "No I won't, now tell me." he smiled. She nuzzled her cheek into his palm "It's an old fisherman's tale, it says that if you keep a seashell by your heart, your soul will always be close to the sea." she explained. "Wow that is pretty stupid." Marco joked. She slapped him in the chest lightly and huffed "You're such a jerk Marco." she frowned, pretending to be mad. "Oh come on, I was only joking." Marco defended, smiling. She turned away from him "Well your joking just put you in the dog house." she played. He scooted closer and wrapped his arms around her stomach. "Aw come on Jackie, there has to be some way I can make it up to you." he whispered seductively in her ear. She bit her lip _this is going to drive me crazy_ she thought.

Marco could really switch gears fast, one second he'd be the innocent safe kid she always knew and the next he'd be all seductive and sexy, not that she was complaining. He started nibbling on her earlobe. "Ohhhh Marcoooo~" she cooed. He started kissing her neck and she was losing it. "I hope you know this isn't going past my neckline." she informed through breathy moans. "Oh I know, but I can still enjoy my privileges." he whispered. She pushed herself backward onto his lap, straddling his waist. He straightened his legs out so she could sit on him comfortably. "Then you won't mind if I use my privileges, right?" she asked, rubbing her butt up and down his zipper. He groaned with need "Nope." he grunted. He tried to play it off, but Marco knew he wasn't going to last long in this battle.

She grinded against him painfully slow, only adding to his need. Marco had to do something fast if he was going to keep up. "Hey Jackie, you never told me about all my privileges, what besides your butt am I allowed to touch?" he asked hastily. She kept grinding "Anything but my special place, but you can only take my clothes off if I tell you." she explained, biting her lip. That was good enough for Marco, he reached up and took her breasts in his hands _God they're so soft!_ He screamed inside.

He kneaded her breasts with his hands, still kissing and sucking on her neck. Jackie whined at his touch, he was about to make her into that kind of girl. Marco really wanted to push her over the edge, but what could he do? Everything up until now was just instinct and things he'd seen in porn. One last thought popped into his head and he decided to give it a go. He grabbed her hips and started grinding his thing against her shorts, it was kind of a copy, but he figured if it was good for him it had to be good for her right? He started picking up the pace, Jackie was moaning and whining, she couldn't do anything to stop him from her position.

Marco kept going until he felt his jeans getting damp. He stopped and stared at her shorts "Why'd you stop?" Jackie whined. He blushed "I think your shorts are wet Jackie." he grinned. She got off the bed, blushing up a storm. She smiled "You got me Marco, I'm definitely hungry for you now." she admitted through shaky breaths. "Well, if they're wet I should probably take them off and let them dry." she suggested. Marco nodded aggressively, he really wanted to see more. She turned around and started slipping her shorts off, getting them just past the bottom of her butt before she stopped. Marco took the sight in, her big, bare, tan butt. She was wearing a black thong too, he could swear this level of torture had to be illegal. She pulled her shorts up and buttoned them again "On second thought, I think I'll leave them on." she smiled devilishly at Marco. "You're evil." he said. "Yeah, but you're really into it aren't you?" she asked seductively.

She kissed him and got on top of him, straddling his waist again, but this time from the front. They made out for a little while, but when he started feeling his need build back up again he stopped. "Ok, let's watch a movie now." he panted "I can't handle much more of this teasing." Jackie seemed to be in similar thought "Yeah, it feels nice, but it'd feel a lot better if we could get off." she agreed. She laid down on the bed and waited while Marco dug around underneath his bed for a movie. "Do you like karate movies?" he asked. "Yeah, karate movies are pretty dope, what is it?" she asked. "Mackie hand, revenge of the golden hands." he said. She nodded and he popped it into his VHS player. Ha laid down on the bed next to Jackie and she crawled over to him, wrapping her arms around his midsection and resting her head on his chest. She sighed contentedly "This is nice Marco." she said. "Which part?" he asked. "All the parts." she giggled. Marco blushed "Glad you like the sweet, sexual, and chill kind of hang out time." he laughed. "As long as it's you, of course I'm down for all that." she said, snuggling up to him.

They watched the whole movie, only pausing it occasionally so they could go to the bathroom or get drinks and snacks. Marco's floor was littered with pop cans and chip bags, there was also a plate that Marco loaded up with his famous nachos, Jackie had eaten over half the plate, he was really glad she liked them. The movie's credits started to roll and Marco turned on the lights. "What time is it?" Jackie asked, yawning. In the last twenty minutes of the movie she started dozing off, Marco was just so darn comfy she couldn't help it. Her eyes widened when she checked her phone "Oh crap! Marco I'm supposed to be home in like 3 minutes!" she freaked. "Whoa whoa chill Jackie, it's fine, I can take you home." Marco said.

She seemed to calm down "Oh yeah, right. My boyfriend moves faster than lightning, how do I keep forgetting that?" she laughed. "Well if it helps, remember it like this, I'm the storm in your sea." he said, blushing at his childish comment. She looked at him strangely and walked over to him. Marco was frozen in place her whole walk over _did I say something wrong?_ She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. He had been trying to clean up, but he set the garbage down on his desk and grabbed her hips, sinking into the kiss. She pulled away, putting her forehead against his "The storm in my sea huh?" she asked. "Yeah?" Marco questioned. She giggled "That sounds pretty cool to me." she admitted. "Glad you like it." He swept her off her feet bridal style and jumped out of his window, speeding to her house and dropping her off with a kiss before heading home.

After he finished cleaning his room Marco felt pretty tired. It was pretty late at night already, about ten _I'll probably finish up and go to bed._ All the borderline sexual stuff with Jackie earlier had given him a huge energy boost, but after lying around for a little while and chowing down, the snacks were starting to send him into a food coma. He couldn't remember how many times him and star had fallen asleep during friendship Thursday movie nights thanks to all the junk food they ate. _I wonder what she's been up to. I haven't heard anything from her room all night, maybe I should go check on her._ Marco slowly made his way to her door, giving it a light knock "Star?" he spoke softly. After a minute he got a reply "Come in Marco."

He opened the door "What have you been up to all night? I couldn't even tell you were here." he chuckled. She was sitting on her bed, hugging her knees close to her chest and staring out the window. "Glossaryck isn't coming back Marco." she sighed. "What do you mean? Did you find him?" Marco asked. "I used the spying spell to try and find him" she explained "it worked, but when I reached out to him he told me he belongs to whoever holds the book." Marco frowned _how could he say something like that to her? Haven't they known each other since star was little?_ He wondered. Marco couldn't wrap his head around it, they had been together for such a long time, how could he throw away all that history, all those memories? Was he really that indifferent? Did he really not care about any of that? It was enough to disturb him a great deal, what did they really know about the little blue man they called their friend?

She shuffled to the edge of the bed, letting her legs dangle off the side and extending her arms out, keeping her head down. Marco gave a weak smile, he knew exactly what she wanted. He walked to her and sank to his knees on the floor, pulling her into a hug. She held him to her chest tightly "I thought he was our friend Marco, I really did. I mean, he's been there for us in so many situations, but was it really just because I had the book? He seemed genuine enough to me, even when he was riddling around with us." star said sadly. He stroked her flowing blond hair in an attempt to calm her "I know star, I thought he was too." he said. They hugged in silence for a few moments.

Marco knew she was having a tough time, he knew she needed this hug more than anything right now, but after earlier Marco's libido started acting up again. He was tucked tight into her chest, her warm, soft, squishy chest. Her breasts weren't that big, but they were big enough to be a good pillow for sure. Marco berated himself mentally _I really need to stop enjoying her so much, what would Jackie think if she knew I was having thoughts like this?_ Sadly, that didn't stop him from himself, he breathed in deeply, inhaling her scent. She smelled of candy and flowers, her smell alone was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to her personality or her physical appearance.

The boy was conflicted with himself, these things he was thinking weren't the same thoughts he had when he was with Jackie, so what did they mean? How could he feel this way for star, yet be in a relationship with Jackie? What was going on with him lately? Why was he noticing these things so clearly about this beautiful alien princess? His mind was clouded, there was no real answer for any of the questions he had. _Do I… love star?_

Star felt her heart beat faster every second Marco was in her grasp. She was sad and terribly hurt over what Glossaryck had said earlier, but just like every time before, when Marco hugged her everything became right again. A weight was lifted off her mind and she remembered what he said the night they'd lost him ' _I promise we'll get it back, Glossaryck too.'_ There was a look in his eyes then, one of pure confidence and determination, she couldn't help but believe him. It made her sad because Marco had seemed to change so much that night, but it made her feel good too, because she could have faith in him that he would keep that promise.

"What should I do Marco?" she finally asked, breaking the silence. Marco was snapped out of his thoughts. He didn't know what to say, he didn't usually handle situations like this, so he decided to tell star the same thing he told her before. "We're going to get him back no matter what star, if he belongs to the book then we'll get the book back. Whether he likes it or not he's our friend, and I'll do anything to make sure he comes home. All we need to do now is find out where it is and we can take it back." Marco stated. There it was again, that confidence, that determination in his voice that let her know she could believe anything he said. He was smiling, staring into her soul with those powerful eyes of his.

She pulled him closer in their embrace, she was smiling, but she didn't let Marco see it. "Don't say things like that unless you mean them Marco." She said. "Anything and everything for as long as I live." He replied. She felt like crying again, but tears of happiness this time. Marco was so sweet, he always seemed to be there to hold her when she was down and reassure her everything would be alright. Sometimes it was saying something heroic, other times it was little things that had a big impact, just like that sentence. It let her know he'd never lie again, he had promised her after all.

She felt a lot better now, it was like Marco always knew just what to say and do to make her feel better. _He doesn't even know how much he means to me._ She thought. They enjoyed their embrace for a few moments more, Marco was lost in thought. He wanted to do something for her. It seemed like day after day it was something else bringing her down. First it was ludo taking her book, then they were fighting all day about him lying, now this. _She deserves to have some fun_ he thought.

He broke their embrace "Hey, I have an idea, where are your dimensional scissors?" he asked excitedly. "In the drawer over there, why?" he rifled through her drawer and grabbed the scissors, cutting open a portal and extending his hand out to her "I have just the thing to cheer you up." he said, smiling. Star bit her lip with excitement. Was this how Marco felt every time she whisked him away on some spontaneous adventure? It was thrilling, she had no idea what was behind that portal, but that was the best part. She took his hand and they rushed through the portal, on the road to their next adventure.

Well, maybe it wasn't an adventure, but it was something just as thoughtful and awesome so star loved it anyway. Marco had brought her to the bounce lounge, one of her most favorite places in the whole galaxy. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Marco!" she jumped up and down excitedly, hugging him after her freak out "This was so thoughtful, you know I love to party!" she exclaimed. "Yeah I do!" Marco said excitedly "Come on star, lets dance!" he shouted, grabbing her hand and running to the middle of the dance floor. Marco didn't really know how to dance, but he figured he'd bring her here and have a fun night out, she deserved it after everything she'd gone through in the past few days.

He started dancing and he was kind of stiff, sticking to simple movements and rooted to his spot. "Come on Marco, just go with the flow! Don't stand there like a tree!" she laughed. She could see he was having trouble, before she came along Marco never went to parties or any social events really. She didn't know how he did it, she'd go crazy sitting in her room all day by herself. She grabbed his hands, a small blush making its way to her cheeks "Here, like this." she said. She started moving their arms back and forth, then swaying their bodies side to side, and eventually they were spinning each other around and shimmying around, doing all sorts of wacky dances.

They whipped out all the old school earth dances, Marco started doing the robot, star was doing the moonwalk, then they both started doing the Egyptian walk. People were starting to cheer around them, but the two of them were so wrapped up in each other they didn't even notice. Star ran over to Marco and grabbed his hands "Let's go to the photo booth Marco!" she shouted excitedly. "Sounds fun!" he agreed. They got in the photo booth, but the atmosphere was different than when they'd been here before, they both noticed it immediately. It was hotter in the photo booth than they remembered. They both started smiling and laughing nervously.

 _What is this feeling?_ Marco wondered. _Why is it so hot in here?_ Star thought. "Well let's take the picture." Marco suggested. "Y-yeah." Star said anxiously. Star started touching the screen, trying to pick a frame, but the only one that would work was the 'lovers' one with all the hearts around it. She blushed "Um… Marco?" she questioned. "Yeah?" it was like she was tongue tied, she couldn't even say it she was so embarrassed. She pointed to the screen. Marco looked at her curiously _what is she trying to tell me?_ He wondered.

He started picking out random frames, but then he found out. He blushed "Only the lovers one works." He stated. She nodded her head. Marco smiled "Well that's fine, it's just a frame! We shouldn't let that stop us from making memories!" he exclaimed. She smiled and nodded her head again. He picked the lovers frame and put his arm around her neck, closing his eyes, smiling, and throwing up a peace sign. Star didn't know what else to do, so she did the same.

During all four pictures star was posing, but she didn't feel like herself. Usually she was loud and obnoxious about taking pictures, but when she got Marco all alone in that photo booth it was like time had stopped. She forgot what she even dragged them in there for, all she could think about was Marco. _He's so close_ she thought. She could smell his deodorant and a small hint of his nachos, he probably made them earlier in the night. _When he was with Jackie_ star remembered.

All the pictures were taken, Marco figured they should probably get out of the photo booth, but for some strange reason he didn't want to leave. This atmosphere he felt when he stepped inside was so incredibly strange, but in a really good way. Star had shuffled impossibly close to him, but he didn't notice until their faces were inches from each other "Star..." he spoke softly. "Marco...?" she questioned quietly. Their faces seemed to be drifting toward one another, Marco felt his eyes start to close _What am I doing?! This is so incredibly wrong, I'm about to cheat on Jackie!_ His mind was racing, but his body wasn't responding to his thoughts.

Star didn't know what she was doing either. She had shuffled closer to Marco without even really meaning to, but now here they were. Star felt bad, she knew Marco's brain had to be going a mile a minute trying to think his way out of this. _Maybe I should pull away, before he does something he regrets_ she thought sadly. _But should I?_ It was impossible to know the answer. A selfish part of her wanted this, no matter what, but she also didn't want to corner Marco and make him feel like he had no choice.

The curtain to the photo booth opened, their lips just an inch away from touching "Hey is anybody in- oh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." the man said. They both opened their eyes quickly, as if they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to. He shut the curtain and walked away, leaving them to look at each other. They both blushed and moved away from each other. "I think I'm going to go get something to drink." Marco stated. "Yeah, I guess I'll see you on the dance floor." star said. Marco left out of the photo booth, taking his pictures and leaving the anarchy princess to her thoughts.

The entire walk over to the bar Marco was berating himself, he couldn't believe he'd almost cheated on Jackie like that. _What is wrong with me? Am I really that disloyal?_ He was having an inward struggle, what was he going to do about this? It's not like he could avoid being in tight spaces with star for the rest of his life, but he was finding that the more time he spent with her, the more he was having these strange feelings and thoughts. Every time they were together she took him out of his comfort zone, which he loved, but right now it was confusing. He remembered something star said before ' _Your head and your heart don't always agree'_ Marco got a drink from the bar and sat down in a booth, thinking about those words. _So which one does my heart love, Jackie? Or star?_ He wondered.

Star was ecstatic "we almost kissed!"she squealed with excitement. Her heart was racing, just then she had almost kissed Marco, if it wouldn't have been for that rude stranger. _I'll get him next time_ she thought, smiling. She knew it was wrong to be happy, especially since she basically would've made Marco cheat, but she couldn't help it. It wasn't even the potential kiss that was exciting her the most, it was the fact that he reciprocated, he wouldn't be doing that if he didn't want it right? _Does that mean Marco might have feelings for me?_ She wondered _ok_ _maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but still._ She exited the photo booth, grabbing her set of pictures too. She could see in each photo she was getting closer and closer to Marco. She remembered the feel of Marco's hot breath on her lips and the way he smelled, it made her hearts glow faintly. "What am I going to do about this boy?" she smiled and walked off to find Marco.

She found him sitting all by himself in a booth, drinking something he picked up from the bar. "Hey Marco." She said, sitting down opposite him. "H-hey star." He greeted nervously. She sighed happily "You know Marco, I'm really glad you brought me here tonight, I think it's just what I needed after this week." she admitted "Thank you." Marco smiled "No problem, to be honest I thought you deserved to have some fun after everything that's happened." He said. "Yeah, it's been a pretty terrible week" she laughed halfheartedly "but you always know how to make it better, don't you Marco?" she smiled. He blushed "I don't know about all that, but I try." He said.

"Mind if I have a sip of that?" star asked, pointing to his drink. "Sure." he handed it over and she took a sip, right off the same edge he was drinking off of. _Indirect kiss, gotcha Marco._ She set it down "The night isn't over yet though, we still got some more dancing to do! Come on!" she grabbed Marco's hands and led him back to the dance floor. She gave him the lead and almost immediately he started moving his feet in rhythm with hers. "Why does it seem like you dance better with someone than without?" she asked. He laughed "Well when I was growing up I always danced with my mom, I never really learned how to dance on my own and it's not something that comes naturally to me either." He explained. He spun them around and twirled her in place, dipping her down and pulling her back up. It was just like at the blood moon ball all that time ago.

The only difference was instead of falling head over heels for some stranger who swept her off her feet, she was falling for the Marco that had done the exact same thing. The lights, the music, everything in this moment was wonderful, she felt like her and Marco were the only people there. Her hearts started to glow, but while she hadn't noticed, Marco sure did "Hey star?" Marco asked. "Yeah?" star questioned. "What does it mean when your hearts are glowing like that?" he asked.

Star blushed, she didn't know what to say. _Just be honest with him, that's what you promised_ she thought. She wanted to be completely honest, to just come out and tell him the truth, but she couldn't, at least not yet. Maybe she could explain it truthfully, but in a different way? _Creative truth telling_ "Well it happens when I'm with someone who's... important, to me." she blushed. While it wasn't the whole truth, it was still the truth nonetheless.

Marco looked away "Am I really that important?" he asked. _You don't even know_ she thought. She smiled "Yes Marco, at this point I don't even know what I'd do without you." she admitted. She leaned her head on his chest and held him close as they danced. "Well if we're being honest, I feel the exact same way" he said "I don't think I could go back to my boring old life after meeting you and going on all these crazy adventures." he laughed. "We sure have been through a lot haven't we?" she asked. "Yeah, and I have no doubt we're going to go through a lot more before anything changes." he sighed contentedly.

Star frowned _I've probably been more of a burden than a joy, he's constantly fighting monsters and being put in life threatening situations. Maybe it would've been better if I had never come here_ "But you know" she looked up at him, he had a big smile plastered across his face "I don't think I'd have it any other way." he finished. In a second every doubt she had was destroyed, just like that. Her hearts glowed brighter "You know I heard people can die from too much excitement." star said. "Well I'd rather die from excitement than boredom." they both started laughing and star touched his face.

All he could do was stand there, wondering what she was doing. _Is she going to finish what she started earlier? Am I going to let it happen?_ His thoughts were racing, but he was oddly excited and nervous at the same time. This was his entire experience with star, he never knew what was going to happen next and he had to admit, he loved every second of it. She pursed her lips and came toward his face. Marco closed his eyes and leaned down _I'm awful, I know I am, but I feel... different, with star. It's an oddly good feeling and only that, a feeling. I can't explain it with words or thoughts, it's just a really good feeling I get whenever we're like this,_ _but maybe that's why I enjoy it so much. Maybe words complicate things, maybe we waste too much time trying to explain things that we forget feelings are more important._

She went past his lips and kissed him on the cheek "Thanksfor cheering me up Marco, I'm really glad I've got someone like you looking out for me." star admitted. It was by far the most bold thing she had done all night, but it was having more of an impact than either of them would care to admit. Marco was lost in his head, all of these realizations had hit him right when he thought they were going to kiss, but they weren't going away now. Star was waiting for Marco to say something _did I go too far?_

"Marco?" she asked. He snapped out of his thoughts "Huh? Sorry, I was distracted." he was blushing, it made star smile "Did you hear what I said?" she asked. Marco smiled too "Yeah, and you should know I'll always be there to help you out whenever you need it, just like I know you'd do for me." he said. Star simply nodded, she was happy they had an understanding. Marco's watch started beeping "Huh, looks like it's two in the morning." Marco said. "Jeez, we've been here that long already?" star asked. "Guess so, you wanna stay a little longer?" he asked. Star smiled "Nah, I'm good. I've already had a ton of fun tonight Marco, we should go home." she said. "Are you sure?" he asked "I know you love this place."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's go home Marco." she smiled. Marco nodded and pulled out the dimensional scissors, cutting open a portal home. When they stepped through they were back in her room, it was extremely quiet, but oddly peaceful. "I'm gonna go get changed." Marco said. "Yeah, I'm gonna change too, I'll meet you in the bathroom in a minute." star said. Marco walked out of her room, running off to change for bed.

After they both changed they met in the bathroom to brush their teeth. There was a mutual feeling of satisfaction floating through the air _I'm glad star had a good time tonight, she must've really needed it after all this._ When they started brushing, star noticed it happening again, she was staring at him, but this time it wasn't just his body, she was staring at his face too. "Something wrong?" Marco mumbled with his toothbrush in his mouth. Star blushed and mumbled some form of opposition in response. They spit into their sinks and washed their toothbrushes off, turning the water off and looking at one another.

"I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but thanks for tonight Marco, I really needed this. I just hope you had as much fun as I did." star said. He smiled "No problem star, I had a great time too." he admitted. They stood there in silence for a moment, neither wanting to leave the atmosphere of the others presence. Star walked over to him "Goodnight Marco." she said, hugging him. She buried her face in his chest and he pulled her tightly to him "goodnight star." he said, stroking her hair. They parted and walked toward their rooms, waving to each other as they closed their doors.

Marco laid down on his bed, pondering the nights events. _Maybe I was just imagining it_ he sighed _either way these thoughts are in my head now, it's impossible to ignore them._ He pulled the covers over himself _when I'm with Jackie I don't feel wrong, but it doesn't feel the same as when I'm with star either. What does that mean though? Is it just a different feeling because me and star are friends? Or is it something I'm not seeing?_ Marco was slowly becoming more frustrated and curious about this new feeling star had introduced to him, but his eyes were feeling heavy, turns out partying for like four hours straight took it out of you. Marco closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, still wondering what was to become of his relationship with Jackie.

Star couldn't bring herself to sleep, she just couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened at the bounce lounge. _We almost kissed_ she found herself smiling and giggling like an excited schoolgirl every time she thought about it _it would've been mutual too, he was ready to kiss me back!_ _Then there was the indirect kiss on his glass, I kissed him on the cheek and he was blushing like crazy!_ Her confidence was definitely boosted, but she also realized she felt a lot better than when they first left. She smiled _he's so sweet, he took me to my favorite place in the whole galaxy just to make me feel better._

She pulled their photo booth pictures off her headboard and stared at them _we look so happy in these_ she giggled, he was making so many weird faces and being so extra, she was just smiling and scooting closer with every photo. _He's having this weird effect on me and I can_ _'_ _t explain it, but I like it, a lot._ She put the pictures back and laid down, pulling her covers over her _I can't wait for all our future adventures Marco, I really hope we have a lot of fun, but more than anything, I hope you realize you'll be my king one day._ That thought was enough to send her happiness into overdrive, but she felt herself start to slow down. She yawned "goodnight, future king of Mewni." she smiled and happily drifted off to sleep.


	4. Words left unsaid

**Chapter 4: Words left unsaid**

 **A/N: I spaced things out a little in the last chapter and in this one too, I hope you guys enjoy the new format a little better, I know it was getting irritating staring at long paragraphs. As for the story we're going to hit a little time skip here, nothing too major, but I just want to move the jarco out of the way and get to that sweet starco fluff already! You'll see what I mean in this chapter, enjoy!**

It's been three months since Marco and star's adventure to the bounce lounge and a lot of things were changing. For better or worse? Depends on who you asked. If you asked Marco, things couldn't be better. Jackie started coming over almost every day after school, most weekends she would tell her parents she was spending the night at star's house and sleep in Marco's bed instead. They had been going on more frequent dates to different dimensions, what with Marco getting his own pair of dimensional scissors and all, but the thing Marco liked the most was his access to more "Privileges" as they liked to call them. After all, spending the night together in bed did give you a lot of time to explore each other's bodies.

If you asked star, however, she would tell you things were changing for the worse. She hardly ever got to spend time with Marco anymore because Jackie was always around taking up all his free time. They still did friendship Thursdays and kept up on traditions like getting breakfast burritos on the weekend mornings, but Jackie was there during that too, star hardly ever got a chance to have alone time with him like she used to. On the rare chance Jackie wasn't there, she might manage to get an adventure in, but it all really depended on whether or not Marco was even up to it. These days she found herself sitting in her room, alone, with nothing but her thoughts and wand to keep her company.

On several occasions star tried to bring up the problem with Marco, but she fell short trying to explain herself because she wound up feeling like a clingy best friend. Marco had even come to her several times and asked her if there was anything wrong, but she would just shake her head and reassure him everything was ok. She didn't know why she was doing this to herself, she promised to be honest with Marco, to tell him anything and everything for as long as she lived, but it seemed like if she did that she'd just be getting in his way.

She was definitely unhappy with the way things had changed, but what could she do? He was moving along in a relationship with Jackie, she knew she was going to be put on the back burner eventually, she just didn't know it would be so fast, or that it would hurt so much. Normally in times like this she would talk to Marco and he would hug her and tell her everything would be ok, he would make her world whole again without any effort at all, but that wasn't an option, not with this anyway.

It was a regular Friday night, Marco was in his room with Jackie watching a movie and star was laying in bed thinking about Marco, again. _The last time we really had fun together we were at the bounce lounge, the night he wanted to cheer me up._ She smiled at the thought of it, she wished they could have more nights like that, just the two of them. She sighed _that isn't really possible anymore though, is it?_ She wondered. She heard the faint sound of steps coming from her closet. When she got out of bed and turned to face the origin of the noise, her eyes went wide with surprise "Hello star." the ominous figure spoke.

Marco and Jackie had just finished their movie and were getting ready for bed. She shed her clothes piece by piece until she was in nothing but her underwear. Marco blushed "Whoa." was all he could say. Jackie giggled "Come on Marco, you've seen me like this lots of times by now." she said. Marco stripped to his underwear too "Yeah, but it never gets old." he said, smiling. Jackie climbed into bed, waving him over. He climbed into bed anxiously, he had been waiting for this all night. He leaned down to kiss her, but she put her hand up "Marco... I think... I think we're ready for the next step." she said, blushing. Marco didn't know what to say _the next step? Really?_ He was excited, but pretty nervous too "Are you sure?" he asked. "Yeah, I think so. We've been together for three months, we get along great and we've barely had any problems. I really think you're the one Marco." she admitted.

Marco was stunned by her words _the one? She really thinks I'm the one?_ Marco didn't know how long you had to be with someone in order to decide that, but if he had to choose, he'd definitely pick Jackie in a heartbeat. She was such an amazing girlfriend, they hung out a lot, shared their problems and feelings, helped each other do homework, plus, she wasn't ashamed of him. She would kiss him in public and let everyone know he was hers. He just couldn't help but feel like he belonged with her. He was ready to take that next step with Jackie, he knew he was, but then he heard a scream and a crash from star's room.

He jumped off Jackie in a heartbeat and landed on the floor, sprinting to her room. "Star!" he shouted, bursting through the door. A dimensional portal had been torn open and a familiar figure was standing beside it with an unconscious star in his grasp. "Toffee." Marco spat. "Well hello there Marco, it's nice to see you again." toffee said smugly. "Can't say the feeling is mutual, put star down, now." Marco demanded. "Or what?" he asked. He barely had time to finish his question before Marco hit him in the jaw with a hard right, sending him sprawling across the floor. Toffee grunted as he got up and brushed off his shirt. "Looks like you've improved a great deal since the last time we met." he stated. "I'd be happy to show you more." Marco bit back, cracking his knuckles.

"No no, that's quite alright, I think I'll just be taking the princess and leaving if you don't mind." toffee said plainly. "Try it!" Marco shouted, bolting forward. When he swung his fist toffee wasn't there anymore _what? Where did he go?_ When Marco turned around all he could see was toffee stepping through the portal with star "No!" he screamed, but it was too late, the portal closed behind them and Marco had no idea where he had taken her. Jackie ran into the room, covered in Marco's blankets "Marco? What happened?" she asked worriedly.

Marco dropped to his knees on the floor "He took star." he said simply. He slammed his fists into the floor boards, breaking them. "He took her and I couldn't do anything about it!" he shouted furiously. "Marco calm down you aren't making any sense." Jackie said, touching his shoulder. He felt hot to the touch, he was shaking and she could tell he was disturbed a great deal. "I have to get her back." Marco stated. He rose from the ground and started walking to his room. Jackie followed him "Marco what're you planning to do?" she asked, struggling to pull the blankets behind her.

He pulled his jeans on and slid on a plain black t-shirt "Marco slow down and talk to me!" she shouted. Marco was taken out of his tunnel vision and looked at her "Look Jackie, star has been taken by a really bad guy and I need to go get her back like right now ok? You can stay here if you want or you can have my parents take you home, but I have to go." he explained. "Can I go with you?" she asked. "It's too dangerous out there Jackie, you don't have any way to defend yourself against the kinds of things I'm going to be fighting." he stated.

Marco rifled through his drawers until he found his dimensional scissors. He didn't know where they went, but he knew a certain someone who might "Do what you need to do Marco, but come back to me safe, ok?" she asked uncertainly. He smiled, she was so adorable to worry about him at a time like this. He kissed her "I promise I will." he said. He cut open an orange rift and stepped through, he was going to need some serious magical help if he was going to track down toffee.

When he set foot on the other side all he could see for miles was barren wasteland, he was in the right place. He had spent sixteen long years of his life in this realm, he had learned to call it home at a time, but now it seemed like a distant memory to him. "Hekapoo!" he shouted. It took a few seconds, but eventually he heard a portal open up behind him "Well look who came back!" she yelled, rushing through the portal to smack him upside the head. He caught her hand mid stroke "You haven't changed at all." he smiled. "Ooooooh well look at you, you certainly have changed since our time together." she said, smiling.

He flung her over his head and she landed on her feet in front of him. "So what brings you back to my realm Marco?" she asked flirtatiously. "I need your help." he said. She looked at him curiously "What could you possibly need my help with? Doesn't Glossaryck usually help you guys?" she asked. Marco looked out in the distance "Ludo stole the book from star a while back." he said. Hekapoo nodded and gave him a look of understanding "I see. Well I'll help you if I can, but I'm only really good with dimensional portals, I don't have incredible amounts of knowledge like Glossaryck." she admitted.

"That's actually why I came here, I need you to track a portal." Marco said. She looked at him "Marco... what exactly happened?" she asked. She could definitely tell he was upset about something, but what could make him go this far? He sighed "Star was kidnapped." he said. "What? By who?" Hekapoo asked quickly. "Toffee." Marco said plainly. He didn't expect the name to mean anything to her, but she looked worried and furious at the same time. "He's probably trying to get back at moon for all those years ago, come on Marco, we don't have a lot of time." she said, opening a portal and motioning for him to follow.

When they stepped through they were back in her forge. She pulled up a hologram version of a computer interface, she seemed to be searching for something from what Marco could tell. "When did he open the portal and where?" she asked. "It was just a few minutes ago in star's room." Marco explained. She searched a little more and after a minute she honed in on it "Got it!" she yelled proudly. "Great! Where did he take her?" Marco asked excitedly. "He took her to a remote planet on the edge of your universe, it seems to be densely populated with monsters who were banished from Mewni's dimension." Hekapoo explained.

"Can I get there?" he asked. "Anywhere he can go, you can go, as long as you have those dimensional scissors." she explained. He took the scissors out and he was ready to rip open a portal, but Hekapoo put her hand on his. She had a look of worry in her eyes "Look Marco, before you go you need to know a few things. The first thing is, you can't make a portal off that planet without me." she said. "Why not?" He questioned. "Well there's a reason banished monsters were sent there, there's a portal dampening field around the entire planet, so only I can make portals strong enough to last in there." she explained.

"Alright, what's the second thing?" he asked. "How much do you know about toffee?" Hekapoo asked. "Well I know he's a jerk and he squared off with star's mom a long time ago, but other than that I don't really know anything, why?" Marco questioned. Hekapoo sighed "He's an extremely powerful being Marco, moon barely managed to defeat him during the war on Mewni all those years ago." Hekapoo warned. She knew none of this was going to stop him from going after star, but she at least wanted him to be informed of who he was going up against.

"I appreciate the history lesson, but it's not going to matter much when I kick his teeth in." Marco said confidently. Hekapoo recognized that fire in his eyes, it was the same one he had when he was chasing her for all those years. She knew he wasn't going to back down on this, not for anything or anyone, he wouldn't stop until star was safely home with him. She smiled "Well I'll give you two options, you can stay here and train, or you can go right now. She won't notice the difference, time works differently here, if you remember." Hekapoo informed. She knew his decision before she even asked, but she figured she'd ask anyway.

Marco didn't want to wait, he needed to go right now. "Hekapoo I'm confident in the strength I have now, I need to go save star." he said strongly. She looked deep into his eyes, there was more than just drive, so much more. She could see confidence, purpose, but more importantly she could see something he couldn't _love_ she thought. That was probably the main reason he was doing this and he didn't even know it. She tore open the portal with her fingers "Well, let's go save the princess then, heroes first." she smirked.

As much as she hated to admit it, she cared about the boy a great deal. She chalked it up to spending sixteen years being chased by him, in that time she had gotten to know quite a bit about him, but she also started to admire him a little bit too. She was happy he came back to see her and glad he asked her for help, but this was a great undertaking even for and unconquerable will like his.

Defeating toffee wasn't going to be easy, especially not for a mortal like him, but when he looked into her eyes she could see how much he had changed. He was a boy no longer, something from their time together and this other training he'd undergone had bolstered his confidence and fighting spirit. One look into those eyes and she knew it for sure, he wasn't going to give up, he wasn't going to stop, and he wasn't going to live with this, not until he got what he wanted, not until he saved star.

He jumped through the portal, Hekapoo following right after. When their feet hit the ground they seemed to be in a very similar wasteland to the one they came from. Marco surveyed his surroundings and one thing stood out very clearly to him, a humongous castle was sitting right in front of them. "I'm assuming this is where he took her?" Marco questioned. Hekapoo nodded "The portal led right in there, no doubt about it." she confirmed. He walked straight up to the enormous double doors, feeling the towering slabs of stone with his hands.

 _It's going to take both of us to open even one of those_ Hekapoo thought. Marco let his hands fall to his sides and he closed his eyes. He slowly let the magic energy leak out through his skin, causing the blue lightning to envelop his whole body. He could feel it arcing around him and when he opened his eyes Hekapoo could see them glowing the same color as his body. She found herself astonished at the boy's sudden power _when did this happen?_ She wondered.

Hekapoo could feel the raw energy radiating from him, it was throwing around small gusts of wind and making his hair fly upward. He cocked back his fist and threw it forward, blowing both of the immense doors off their hinges and sending them flying all the way to the other end of a large, open arena. Apparently it wasn't even a castle at all, but a Colosseum disguised as one. He walked through without a moment's hesitation "Toffee!" he roared, his voice powerful and unyielding.

Marco and Hekapoo stepped through the smoke and found themselves inside the large open fighting arena. Toffee sat at the far end on a chair, looking down on them. He had a very smug look on his face "It is very surprising to see you here so soon, I thought it might take you a little longer, but I'm glad you're here." he boomed "and you too, Hekapoo." Hekapoo scoffed at him "Nobody is here for you, creepy snake, we came for star." she stated. "I don't suppose you'll be leaving without her then?" toffee asked, adjusting his tie and standing up. Hekapoo smiled "Not a chance." she said confidently.

"Where is she?" Marco snarled. Toffee pressed a button and a glass case rose from the ground on the right side of the arena with star trapped inside. She had her hands on the glass, trying to look at her surroundings and figure out what was going on, but then she saw Marco. _What is he doing here!?_ _He's going to get himself killed!_ She thought. Marco rushed to her, pressing his hands against the glass over hers "Star! I'm so glad you're ok!" he smiled.

She had a worried look on her face "Marco you need to get out of here! If you try to rescue me toffee is going to kill you!" she warned. Marco chuckled "Star I'm pretty sure I can handle a lawyer." he said. "Maybe if he was the same as last time, but he's stronger now Marco, he defeated me like it was nothing." she admitted. Marco stared into her eyes "He may have gotten stronger, but so have I, and I'm going to make sure you come home no matter what, alright?" when he spoke star could hear it in his voice again, the confidence, the unyielding pride and strength. _Could he actually pull this off? Do I really want him to try?_

She shook her head "Marco I'm not worth it, just go home and forget about all this, it's not your fight." she said sadly. Deep down she wanted him to fight for her, even if it was incredibly selfish. More than that though, she wanted him to be safe, she wanted him to live the happy life he deserved, but if he kept doing stuff like this, he could never be happy _maybe it would be better if he just accepted_ _it_ _and walked away now._ She smiled, at least this way she couldn't drag him into any more of her messes. She looked to him for his answer, but he was smiling back at her with a soft look in his eyes.

"I refuse." he walked away from her glass prison, slowly making his way to where toffee sat. He put his fist in the air "This is my fight, it became mine as soon as he took you from me." he stated. She wanted to bang on the glass and scream, to shout mean things at him and tell him he was stupid for even coming here, but the more angry and sad she got she realized that more than anything she was... happy. _He's not going to give up on me. No matter what I say, no matter what I do, he's always gonna be there to have my back, isn't he?_ The thought was enough to make her blush _my hero._

"Now I just need to find a way out of this stupid thing." star said aloud. An orange dimensional portal ripped open next to her _where did that come from?_ She looked around the arena and saw Hekapoo still standing by the doors, a similar orange portal right next to her. They gave each other a nod and star stepped through, standing shoulder to shoulder with Hekapoo. "Thanks for the assist." star said. "Any time princess. Now, you ready to watch the epic showdown?" Hekapoo asked, smiling softly.

Star was confused "But I'm already out, we can go home now." she started walking after Marco, but Hekapoo grabbed her shoulder "We can't leave yet. This is Marco's fight now, only he can decide when it's time to go home." she explained. Star was starting to get agitated "What are you talking about? There's no reason for him to fight!" star protested. Hekapoo sighed "You really don't get it, do you?" she asked. Star gave her a confused look _she's his best friend, but she doesn't even understand._ Hekapoo thought.

Star was frustrated "I get that you're about to let him go out there and get hurt!" she shouted. "It's not like it's for nothing." Hekapoo growled. "Then what is it? Give me one good reason I should let my best friend go out there and throw down with someone who would kill him without a second thought!" star yelled. "Because he needs to star!" Hekapoo yelled angrily "this is about him now, he knows that I could take you all home right now if I wanted, but he wants to do this."

"But why would he want to fight if he doesn't have to?" star asked. Hekapoo sighed "Because he wants to prove himself worthy of you." she explained. _Worthy of me?_ Star wondered."But he's already amazing, he doesn't need to prove anything to me." star said. "He's not proving it to you, he's proving it to himself." Hekapoo explained. Star stared at Marco as he walked _I don't understand Marco, why do you need to prove anything to_ _anyone_ _? You should know by now you're more amazing than anyone I've ever met._

Hekapoo could tell that star still didn't get it, this was something she'd probably have to explain. She watched Marco too, a soft smile playing across her lips "He wants to prove it to himself because he knows that you like him how he is. It's because of your acceptance that he wants to get stronger, to be better, because he wants to go above and beyond for the person who cared for him when he was weak." Hekapoo explained.

Star was letting it all sink in _that's why he did all this? He learned magic, put himself through such hard training and slaved away just for me?_ "He wants to prove that he can be strong, just like you." Hekapoo said. Star stared at her "Like me?" she asked softly. Hekapoo nodded "He looks up to you quite a bit. He admires how strong you are, both as a person and as a magic wielder." she explained. _Out of all the people you could choose to admire, you_ _picked_ _the_ _rebel_ _princess who screws up all the time, not smart Diaz._ A small smile crept onto her face, it felt good to know he admired her.

"Also" Hekapoo started. Star looked at her "Don't count him out before he's even had a chance to fight, have a little faith in the guy." she finished. Star remembered what it felt like when he didn't believe in her, it was an awful feeling and she wouldn't wish it on anyone, especially not Marco. "I'm just worried I guess, he's never fought such a powerful opponent before." star said. They both looked on as the confrontation began, Marco had reached the other side of the arena. _Good luck Marco_ they thought.

Marco stared him down, an intense and malicious look in his eyes. _Interesting, this boy seems different from the last time we met_ toffee thought. Toffee jumped down from his chair, landing on the ground in front of Marco. He adjusted his tie "You know you could go home right now, run away and contact moon and you'll never have to worry about me again." he stated. "I don't need moon's help to defeat you." Marco said. Toffee raised an eyebrow "Do you even know how powerful I am?" he asked. "I couldn't care less, I'm going to grind you into the dirt anyway." Marco said confidently.

Toffee smiled "You should be careful, arrogance will be your downfall." he said. "No, I'm pretty sure it'll be you boring me to death with all this talking." Marco retorted. "Well if it's a fight you want I'd be happy to oblige you." toffee said. Toffee's suit started to glow green, it shimmered and changed shape right before Marco's eyes. When the green aura disappeared toffee stood clad in his battle armor, the same one he wore when he fought moon butterfly all those years ago.

"He was wearing that in mom's tapestry!" star said. Hekapoo nodded "Yep, that's his battle armor, it's an enchanted black steel set, it can take a lot of punishment from anyone or anything." she explained. Star was getting nervous "will Marco be able to punch through it?" she asked. "Only time will tell." Hekapoo said.

Marco erupted with magic power, his lightning aura cascading over his body and even cracking the ground beneath him. "I'm going to make you regret ever thinking about taking star." Marco boomed. His voice was ominous, like it wasn't even his. Toffee radiated an aura of dark black, a cocky smile on his lips "bring it on kid-" he wasn't allowed to finish, Marco slammed him in the jaw with a left hook, sending him flying into the far wall of the arena. It was clear to everyone toffee hadn't expected such a quick attack.

 _He's gotten a lot faster and a lot stronger than back then._ Toffee got his feet under him, but as soon as he was ready to stand to his full height Marco was already towering over him "where's all that cockiness you had before?" Marco asked, kicking him in the jaw. Toffee rolled across the ground, sliding and stopping on all fours. "I haven't forgotten the pain you put her through. You made her destroy her wand, you made her cry!" Marco shouted angrily. He kicked toffee in the chin, sending him flying upwards. "I'm going to make you pay!" Marco met him in the air and punched him in the face with all his strength. Toffee flew downwards, piercing and shattering the ground.

Star could hear his emotions when he screamed, he sounded angry, but also full of grief _he really cares about me_ she felt her heart beat faster _even if it's something simple like making me cry or making me sad, he'll do anything to make sure it doesn't happen again._ "When that boy has a goal it's almost impossible to stop him." Hekapoo said. Star smiled "Yup, that's my Marco for ya." she said happily. _Her_ _M_ _arco?_ Hekapoo wondered.

When the dust cleared toffee had climbed out of the hole his body made. He swished around the blood in his mouth and spat it on the ground "you certainly have improved, but it still won't be enough." he stated coldly. His black aura appeared again and before Marco knew it, he couldn't see him anymore. He had completely disappeared _where did he go?_ Marco wondered. He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head before he went flying through the air. A quick glance back confirmed his suspicions, it was toffee, standing right behind where he had been.

 _How did he move so fast? I didn't even see him!_ Marco didn't have any more time to think, toffee appeared in front of him. He barely had time to block his next attack, but Marco managed to put both his arms up just before toffee hit him with another devastating blow. Marco crashed into the ground, hitting it with a hard thud and knocking the wind out of him. _What's going on? He's moving so fast I can't even keep up!_ Marco spun around and landed on his feet, bolting forward and throwing a punch at toffee.

Right before it connected though, toffee disappeared again, reappearing underneath Marco and hitting him in the chin with a strong uppercut. Marco slammed into the roof and fell, his eyes half lidded. He could feel his vision getting fuzzy _damnit, how am I going to beat him if I can't even touch him?_ He could already feel the pain and fatigue creeping into his body, he wasn't going to last long if the fight kept going this way. He hit the ground again, feeling a harder impact from the fall.

Star couldn't believe what she was seeing, it looked like Marco was controlling things in the beginning of the fight, but now toffee was doing that weird disappearing thing he had done to her earlier. _I should have warned him before he went out there, I'm so stupid_ she sighed. Hekapoo looked at her "what's wrong star?" she asked. Star made eye contact "I knew about his power before Marco even stepped out there, I should've warned him, but now he's gonna get his butt kicked and it's all my fault." she stated. Star felt horrible, how could she forget to tell him something so important?

Hekapoo giggled "Don't even worry about it, something that small isn't going to slow him down one bit." she said confidently. Star was surprised at how calm she was being, Marco had just taken two solid hits and she was giggling like It was nothing. "how can you be so sure?" star asked. Hekapoo gazed at Marco with a far off look in her eyes "in all the sixteen years he chased me he never once gave up, even when all hope seemed lost he kept going until the very end." she said wistfully.

"When he first started his adventure he could barely hold his own against my clones, I even remember sending waves of them after him to crush his will and force him out of my dimension, but no matter how many times he got beat down he got right back up and fought back twice as hard as before. Little did I know, every time I tortured him it only made him want to get stronger." Hekapoo explained. Star found herself enthralled by her story "I was spying on him the whole time of course, so I got to see everything. Before he managed to find a city he had to deal with sleep deprivation, starvation, sometimes even dehydration. I remember one time about three years in, before he got his dragon cycle, he came to a city that he needed passage through to get to one of my temples. They wouldn't let him in, but there was no way for him to get around or over either, so he spent a whole day slamming his fists into the wall built around it." she said.

"The fact that he spent a whole day grinding away at it and hurting himself in the process, it made me realize something about that boy." Hekapoo said. Star looked at her curiously "it made me realize that no matter what, he will never back down. He'll keep going and going until he gets what he wants or dies, and he isn't too big on dying. I learned that his spirit is unbreakable and just when you think you've managed to win, he comes back even stronger than before. It sets him apart from most of his race, he is a very special human indeed, that's why I'm so confident that he'll win." Hekapoo explained.

Star was shocked, she never knew Marco had gone through so much in all that time. To her it had only been minutes, but to him it had been years, of course you could go through a lot in sixteen years, but star had never thought to ask. She was amazed, was he really that stubborn? Was his spirit really that unyielding? She stared at him as he got to his feet _it's amazing how much you've changed_ _and_ _I haven't even noticed. I'm sorry I doubted you, but from now on I promise I'll believe in you and never give up, just like you!_

"What are you doing Diaz! Get up an take this fool down already so we can go home, I'm getting really hungry for some of my favorite chef's nachos!" star shouted, smiling. Hekapoo smiled too, she had no idea what that meant, but she felt like star got the message. Marco was standing to his full height now, holding his fists at his sides. _Star seems completely different from before, she looks like she really believes in me now. I wonder what Hekapoo said to her..._ his thoughts trailed off. With his sense of purpose renewed he could face toffee with a smile "something funny?" toffee asked. "nah, just feeling really good right now." Marco admitted.

Toffee cocked an eyebrow "you shouldn't be, I don't know if you've realized this, but I can move faster than you now. None of your strength matters if you can't even touch me." he gloated. Marco was still smiling "Well, I guess I'll just have to move faster than you then." he stated. Toffee scoffed "you're such a simpleton, basic tactics like that won't have any effect if you don't have a plan to achieve them." he said. "There's an old human saying that I love: where there's a will, there's a way, so if there is a way, I'm going to find it and kick your butt." Marco said strongly.

 _Perhaps I gave this boy too much credit, he ma_ _y_ _be stronger, but he seems to have gotten a lot less intelligent since I've been away_ toffee thought. Marco dove in and swung with his right, toffee caught it, only to be pounded in the gut by his left. _How did I miss that one?_ Toffee wondered. Toffee hit Marco in the face with a right hook, but it stopped as soon as it connected. Marco made eye contact and hit him with a right uppercut, sending him into the air. _He didn't even flinch!_ _How Is this possible!_ Toffee disappeared and reappeared behind Marco _he still isn't fast enough to catch me when I teleport_ toffee swung a left hook into his body, but Marco grabbed his arm mid stroke and slammed him in the face with a devastating right punch, throwing him into the side of the arena once again.

Toffee was beginning to get agitated "your teleporting thing isn't going to work on me anymore, I've ramped up my speed and reaction time." Marco said. "Impossible! You can't improve that much in just a few minutes!" toffee shouted. "Well I guess I just made the impossible possible, so give me your best shot." Marco taunted. Toffee started disappearing and reappearing all over the place _I can see all his moves now_ Marco thought. When toffee reappeared and tried to strike Marco met him fist to fist. Every time their knuckles clashed it sent a shockwave through the whole arena.

Marco and toffee were both moving so fast neither star nor Hekapoo could see them. All they could see was enormous clashes of lightning and dark magic spreading through random spots in the arena. Every now and again one of them would land a hit and send the other flying, but they would recover and bite back immediately without any hesitation. Eventually both of them stood on separate sides of the arena, glaring at each other. Toffee looked fine, but Marco had blood running down his head and arms and his knuckles were worn down and bloody. Star was worried, she'd never seen him lose this much blood before.

Marco ripped his shirt off "I'm tired of playing around, let's get real." he challenged. "I couldn't agree more." toffee said. They rushed at each other and kept throwing punches, matching each other blow for blow like before. Toffee landed a solid punch in the center of Marco's face, but he didn't move, not an inch. He stared toffee down from behind his fist _this boy... he's just not going to give up, is he?_ Marco hit him with a left body blow and shattered his whole rib cage, then he hit him with a right cross that broke his jaw and sent him tumbling across the arena.

Toffee got up, his injuries healed and gone "If I were a normal opponent that combo would've been the end of me, but you must've forgotten, I have a healing factor at play." toffee boasted. "Oh I didn't forget, I just don't care." Marco said through a bloody smile. His fists were up and his eyes were in a dead glare watching his opponent. Star couldn't help but be amazed, even through all this abuse he was still giving toffee such a hard time. Marco was the first to attack this time. Jabbing at toffee a few times with his left and then trying to hit him with a right cross, but toffee caught his right arm and put his hand under his elbow. He pulled down his forearm and broke Marco's right arm.

Marco screamed out in pain and fell to the floor "Marco!" star shouted. She started running to his side, but Hekapoo caught her once again "Don't star, this is his fight." she reminded her. "But isn't this a bit much? His arm is broken! There's no way he can fight him like that!" star protested. "Believe in him star, he can do this." Hekapoo assured. She looked at Marco and then back to Hekapoo "Alright, but promise me you'll save him if he's going to die, ok?" star asked. Hekapoo smiled "That I can do."

Marco laid on the ground for a minute holding his arm. Toffee was pacing around him in a wide circle, like a predator with its prey. "You believe yourself to be strong boy, you gave me that look of unmatchable spirit just then, but I will break you. I will shatter your spirit and break your will, I'll show you that no one defies me." he stated coldly. Marco stood up, still holding his arm. He was shaking from the pain, but he wasn't about to let it show on his face "That so?" Marco asked, smiling. Toffee stared him down.

Marco stared back and toffee could see the fire in his eyes, the same spirit he had seen before. Marco grabbed the wrist of his broken arm and tugged on it as hard as he could, snapping his arm back into place. He screamed out in agony again, but managed to stay on his feet this time. Star and Hekapoo gasped, that had to be incredibly painful. Marco rose both of his fists again "well if you think you can, you're gonna have to try a lot harder than that." Marco stated confidently.

Toffee was shocked _what kind of human is he? He's willing to endure all this pain and still keep fighting, but for what? Something I did to that girl before? Is that really all this is?_ Toffee wondered. "What keeps you going boy?" he asked. "This is just something I have to do, I have to win, because I'll never let star down again as long as I live." Marco stated. He held his fists up again, ready to fight like nothing had even happened. Toffee was furious "I'm going to crush you and your dreams!" toffee shouted. "Bring it on!" Marco yelled back. The two charged at each other once again and started trading blows.

Star was covering her mouth with her hands, she couldn't believe this. _Marco just broke his arm! Twice! And he's still got the will to fight? He's... incredible._ Hekapoo could see she was crying "You've seen full scale war, but you've never seen anything like this. This is a grudge match, a long and bloody fight to the death. This is a battle of purpose and will, so whoever has the strength to endure longer will be the victor." Hekapoo explained. Star knew she was right, this was unlike anything she'd ever had to witness. She never thought she'd have to watch her best friend go through so much pain, let alone endure it all for her sake. All she could do was nod at her words, this was going to get a lot worse before it got any better.

Marco traded blows with toffee, colliding fists and landing brutal hits on each other. Toffee hit him with a strong body blow and Marco could feel three of his ribs shatter. He gritted his teeth _my body is going to give out eventually, I need to find some way to get past his healing factor, but how? Think Marco, think!_ Marco slammed him back with a hard right, but toffee healed and came back for an onslaught of punches. All Marco could do was block, but he felt the pain in his arms increasing. _First_ _I need to change tactics, no more trading blows._

He dodged one of toffee's punches and stepped in, summoning bolts of lightning in his hands and slicing toffee clean in half. The two pieces of him laid on the ground, but slowly started reconnecting themselves. _Well I knew that wasn't going to work, but at least it bought me a little bit of time to catch my breath_ Marco thought. He took a deep breath _there has to be some way to kill him for sure, maybe his healing factor has a limit. Maybe if I keep slicing and dicing with everything I have I can destroy him faster than he can heal._ Marco knew it wasn't a full proof plan, but it was the only one he had right now, so he charged ahead at full speed, just as toffee stood up.

Toffee threw a punch at him, but Marco cut his arm off and cut his body in half too. Marco's aura grew bigger, his eyes glowing even brighter than before. He started moving faster, cutting away at every part of toffee he saw starting with the limbs, then cutting them out of existence. His speed was ramping up at an alarming pace, he could feel himself striking faster every second. _I need to move faster, faster than he can regenerate._ Marco kept hacking away, letting out a mighty roar as he erupted with energy and swung his bolts even faster.

After a minute of keeping it up Marco couldn't see anything left of toffee. He smiled _good, I couldn't have kept going for much longer, I'm all out of magic power._ His aura and bolts disappeared and he fell to his knees "It's over, finally." he panted. All the fatigue and pain started settling in, he fell to the ground _it hurts so bad, but I won. I proved I can fight at her side, no matter who her opponent is. That's all that really matters._ He closed his eyes, ready to take a nice long nap and be done with today, but then he heard an ominous laugh from across the arena.

His eyes snapped open _no way, it can't be!_ He heard clapping and the chilling laughter of his opponent "that was a very good attempt boy, trying to outperform my healing factor, but I guess you just weren't fast enough. Now look at you, all tuckered out and nothing to show for all your effort." toffee boasted. Marco grinded his teeth _how? I swear there was nothing left of him!_ Marco struggled inside himself, what could he do now? The only plan he had failed, now he had no magic power left and no more strategies.

"Hekapoo?" star questioned. She was worried, she couldn't feel any more magic energy coming from Marco and he was lying on the ground. Star knew he wasn't dead, but she couldn't tell if he was conscious. Hekapoo didn't show it, but she was worried for him too _come on Marco get up, don't make a liar out of me._ Marco felt discouraged, he had tried everything, but it still wasn't working. What could he do now? With no magic power and his body feeling heavy like this, what was left? The pain was unbearable and he could feel the drowsiness creeping up on him _is this it? Is this really all I have?_ he turned his head and looked at star, her hands were covering her mouth and she was... crying? _She's crying?_ Marco smiled _of course she is, she never wanted to see me get beat up like this._

Marco slammed his palm on the ground and started pushing himself up _I've got no right to complain, star has been throug_ _h so much just to keep me safe, so I can't stop, I can't give up, not until_ _I prove_ _I can do the same_ _!_ It was obvious to everyone he was struggling, but he got his second arm under him and pushed harder until he was on all fours. He was shaking and swaying side to side, but he stood up to his full height and put his arms up "I don't care if I don't have any magic left, I don't care if you can keep healing, and I sure as hell don't care if I don't have a strategy left to kill you. All I care about is standing at star's side as her equal. I just want to be strong enough to help her fight the things that she can't face on her own. Until I prove I can do that, I won't lay down, I won't quit, and I won't stop fighting!" Marco roared.

Toffee laughed "March toward your death if you wish, it doesn't affect me any." he disappeared and reappeared right behind Marco again, slamming him in the head with his elbow. Marco flew forward and hit the ground, immediately getting up and putting up his block "you're gonna have to do just a little bit better." he panted. Toffee disappeared again, this time attempting an attack from the left. Marco saw it just in time and caught it, hitting toffee with a killer right punch and knocking him over.

Marco knew he looked pathetic right now, his punches weren't doing half as much damage as before and he had no magic left, but he didn't care. As long as he could keep fighting he couldn't lose, but if he kept fighting he knew he was going to die. He had asked himself before if his pride was really worth his life, but his answer was no. This wasn't about his pride though, this was about being good enough for star, and he would rather die than have someone tell him he wasn't worthy to stand with her as her equal.

Toffee was really annoyed now _how does he still have the ability to stand? He has to be at his limit, but he's still going. Whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm going to finish this right now._ Toffee appeared in front of him and hit him with a left hook, sending him to the ground. When Marco was starting to get up toffee didn't give him any room, he kicked him hard in the chest, throwing him across the arena and landing right next to star and Hekapoo. "Marco!" star yelled. She ran to his side and put his head in her lap. She could see all the cuts and bruises on his face, not to mention the blood leaking from his mouth and nose. She could see some coming out of his ears too.

Now that she was getting a close look at him she could see his arms were worse. His knuckles were beaten raw and covered in blood, on his right hand it looked like one of the knuckles had been worn away so bad the bone was showing. His forearms were badly bruised from taking so many blows, his biceps looked like they had been pushed to their limit, and his shoulders were uneven, but that was to be expected since his right arm had been broken twice.

Star was crying, she knew she shouldn't because Marco needed her right now, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't believe he had gone this far just for her. She hugged him close "why Marco? Why are you willing to go this far?" she whispered. "because you'd do the same for me." he choked. She pulled away and looked into his eyes, he was giving her a bloody, toothy grin. She couldn't say anything, all she could do was feel the warm look in his eyes, that look that let her know everything was going to be alright.

He started getting up and she couldn't think of anything to do, so she let him go. He stood to his full height "well, I should get back to it, you wanted those nachos right?" Marco asked, laughing. Star stood up "Marco just stop, please." she said shakily. More tears were welling up in her eyes "I don't want to see you get hurt anymore, you don't have anything left to prove to anyone so lets... lets just go home."she choked. Marco felt his heart sink, he never meant to make her cry, but he couldn't give up on this either "I'm sorry star, but I can't. Nothing will ever be alright again if I can't prove I'm strong enough to stand with you." Marco stated.

"What does that even mean!" star screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. "It means I want to be strong like you star! I've always wanted to be strong like you!" Marco yelled back. They stared into each others eyes "since the day I met you I've always admired you star, you're so kind and compassionate, but you can kick a lot of ass too. I always wanted to be strong, but earth has different standards, so I chose to raise that standard to you. Every time you went through something awful all I could do was just stand there and watch, all I could do was hug you and tell you things would be alright, but I couldn't do anything to make them that way. I felt horrible and I wanted to change all of that, I wanted to have the power to make your world ok, I wanted to be able to destroy anything that makes you cry and defeat the enemies with you that you could never challenge alone. I know you told me once that you didn't need a hero, you needed a friend, but I don't see why I can't be both." Marco explained.

Star didn't know what to say, she never expected to hear this type of talk come from Marco. Sure, Hekapoo had told her the exact same thing earlier, but coming from his mouth it was... different, somehow. She blushed and sniffled "But you were fine just the way you were Marco, you didn't have to change for me." she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I know star, but I wanted to." Marco smiled "This was just something I needed to be confident in myself, something I needed to prove to myself and you that I could reach new heights and be even better than I was." star was smiling now _he's such an idiot_ she thought.

Star wanted to help, but she knew he had to do this on his own. "Well at least let me share something Glossaryck told me a long time ago." star said. Marco raised an eyebrow "if you want to reach the true depths of your magic, you need to dip down Marco, into the very depths of your soul. Face your hidden emotions and learn to be at peace with yourself, truly." star explained. _To the very depths of my soul? Hidden emotions?_ He thought back to the time at the bounce lounge _are those the kinds of emotions she's talking about?_ He wondered if that could be it, maybe if he faced it he could overcome this right now.

He stared at toffee "if I dip down I can probably beat him, but I don't know if you're going to like it star." Marco admitted with a blush. She rolled her eyes "Marco I'm with you no matter what, don't even worry about it." she said. "You sure?" he asked. Star was starting to get nervous _could it really be that bad? Am I really ready to hear whatever he has to say?_ Star nodded, it didn't matter, her and Marco would always be the best of friends, no matter what. Marco let out a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He faced away from her "I'm afraid that I might be in love with you star." star felt like she had been hit with a freight train of rainbows and warnicorns _no way, did he really just say that?_ "That night at the bounce lounge I was ready to cheat on Jackie without any hesitation at all, I didn't even care about what was going to happen, all I cared about in that moment was us. I was ashamed because I thought I was some sort of Casanova, like I was treating women like objects or something, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. When I'm with you I get this weird feeling I don't get with Jackie, it's warm and good and I can't ever get enough of it, that's why we haven't really been hanging out these past three months." Marco started

"I've been trying so hard to focus on developing feelings for Jackie that I completely ignored you and tried to stay away from that addicting feeling I get when I'm hanging out with you, but even now I have to admit I crave it. I crave it so much it makes me go crazy sometimes. I've been beating myself up all this time because I have dreams about you and I can't stop thinking about you when I should be loyal to my girlfriend, but more than anything I feel bad because I felt like I was losing you. I felt like we were growing apart and I never meant for our friendship to end up that way. When this happened it felt complete, like you had exited my life completely and I wasn't about to just let that happen, so I came after you and I told myself I would apologize after this was all over. I suppose enduring this beatdown is a way of trying to redeem myself, but I honestly don't even know anymore. I just hope that you don't hate me star, for everything, I really am sorry." Marco finished.

He was scared to look at her, but he knew he had to eventually. When he turned she was right behind him, staring into his eyes with tears in hers. _Oh no I made her cry again_ he felt bad immediately, but he noticed she had a smile on her face _what? Is she smiling?_ He didn't even notice how close she was and he didn't get the chance to, star reached up and slid her fingers through his hair, pulling him down to her and crashing their lips together.

It was sloppy, rough, and completely lacking any sort of grace or atmosphere, but both of them enjoyed every bit of their first kiss. Star's hearts lit up and a pink aura surrounded her, she had never felt something this amazing before. Marco was of similar thought, he didn't even care about Jackie anymore, he knew it for sure now. _I love you_ they thought. They parted, but neither of them wanted to leave each other's personal space. "So... that was me dipping down." Marco panted. "Me too." star agreed. He could see her hearts glowing again "so that's what you meant by someone important huh?" he asked, chuckling. Star giggled "yep, you got me Diaz, I've been falling for you this whole time." she admitted.

He nuzzled his nose against hers "well we'll talk more about this when we get home, but right now I have something to finish." Marco stated. He broke their embrace and started walking toward toffee. Marco could feel it, his magic had changed. His old lightning was gone, but there was something new that took its place, something warmer and stronger than his old magic. "alright toffee, it's time to end this, for real this time." Marco stated confidently.

"Try if you must, but you have nothing left to fight with." toffee said. "that's where you're wrong." Marco smiled. Marco let this new power leak out and take shape, his aura was yellow now, but it felt... different. It was warm and inviting, but completely untamed and aggressive _like true lightning should be_ he thought. He let it out fully, crushing the ground he stood on and sending monstrous gusts of wind all around him. His eyes glowed yellow "this is the power of dipping down, the true power my lightning possesses comes from love!" he boomed.

He could feel it in his bones, he was stronger now, faster too. Now he just had to come up with a way to finish him off without wasting it. _Outrunning his healing factor won't work, but what if I completely destroy him with one attack?_ Marco felt so stupid, why hadn't he thought of that before? One decisive blow would end the whole thing. Marco rushed around the arena, all anyone could see was a yellow flash tearing across the roof and ground of the entire place. "This is your plan? Pathetic, you can't run forever." toffee stated.

Marco couldn't help but smirk _who's the dummy now?_ He kept going and going until they could barely see him "what is he doing?" star whispered. Marco knew it had to be one strong blow to completely obliterate him, so he started slowly gathering speed so he could shove all his momentum and lightning into one final attack, this was gonna be a big one. "You know toffee, you think you're so smart, but you haven't even figured out my plan yet. Haven't you figured out what's going to happen to you when I hit you going this fast?" Marco boomed. Toffee's eyes went wide "there's no way you could pull that off, you'd have to have all your magic power back to even attempt it and you were almost dead just a few seconds ago!" he shouted.

"It's funny the kinds of things love can do to you..." Marco trailed off. _There's no way this boy could be completely rejuvenated, not with one kiss, not with anything! How does he keep catching a second wind? Why can't he just die!_ Toffee tried to take a step, but he was rooted to the spot "what have you done to me!" he yelled. "Nothing, the suction from my vortex is keeping you on the ground so I can aim my perfect shot!" Marco shouted, stopping in the center of the dome on top of the arena. "Now, I'm not usually one for flashy attacks, but I think I'll call this one... the SHOOTING STAR!" he roared, plunging down to where toffee stood.

When his fist connected with toffee's head, toffee could feel all the raw force and energy he created when he was running, then a sudden, immense flash of lightning struck him. The bolt itself was blinding and an intense shockwave followed, shattering the ground and sending star and Hekapoo flying. Toffee screamed out in pain, he could feel himself slowly being burned into nothingness "I'll kill you all!" he screamed, the last of him dissipating away.

Marco's feet touched the ground and immediately he felt drowsy again. He fell flat on his face, but kept his eyes open, just to make sure he didn't come back again. After a few minutes of absolute silence, he heard nothing and teared up _I won. Star! I won! I really am strong enough now, to call you an equal. I love you so much._ _T_ _hank you for this opportunity, but more than anything, thank you for believing in me, I know it must've been hard to stand there and watch, but thank you for trusting that I could do this. Thank you so much for everything and for loving me back, because I don't know what I would've done if I confessed and you had nothing to say. Thank you..._ he drifted to sleep, content with his hard earned victory.

When the dust cleared all star and Hekapoo could see was Marco laying on the ground with his eyes closed. "Marco!" star yelled. She ran to his side and listened to his chest, his heart was still beating and he was still breathing _he's alive, he's just sleeping_ she sighed "you're real good at making me worry, you know that?" she smiled. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Hekapoo agreed. "I'm really glad he did this, even if he did get hurt." star admitted. "I'm sure he's extremely happy you believed in him, he really did need to take this step forward star, for himself and for you." Hekapoo said.

"I can see that now. All he ever wanted to do was be my equal, but as much as I said it, he could never believe it without proving it to himself first." star said. Hekapoo nodded _now she gets it._ Star draped Marco's arm around her neck "I think it's about time we head home." star said. "Yeah, you guys deserve it after the night you've had." Hekapoo giggled. She opened a portal with her hand and they all stepped through, they were back in star's room. "Thanks for your help Hekapoo, I really appreciate it." star said. "No problem princess, but you should really thank Marco. He was the one who sought my help and risked everything just to show you he could save you." Hekapoo said.

Star stared at Marco "don't worry, I'll be sure to thank him when he wakes up." star said. "Well then, I guess its about time I head back to my dimension then, make sure you tell him to come see me some time." star nodded and Hekapoo opened a portal, waving goodbye as she stepped through. Star grabbed her wand and immediately started on a healing incantation she remembered, dipping down and casting a pink aura over Marco's sleeping form. She went for twenty minutes until all of his injuries were fully healed, but afterwards she was completely drained.

She pulled Marco onto her bed and laid down right next to him, pulling the blankets over them. Marco stirred and opened his eyes "huh? Where are we?" he asked. Star yawned "we're in my bedroom dummy, you won the fight, so we came home just like you promised." she smiled and snuggled up to him. "My hero." star said wistfully. Marco blushed "My injuries..." he couldn't feel the pain anymore, he made fists but his knuckles seemed fine, he couldn't feel any cracks in his ribs either "all healed, courtesy of me." star giggled. "Thanks star." Marco smiled. "No problem Diaz." she said happily. "You know my blood is gonna get all over your sheets right?" Marco asked, laughing. "We can worry about it in the morning, but right now I just want to sleep, that healing spell took it right out of me." star admitted.

"Look, about what I said before-" star put her finger on Marco's lips and sat up, looking in his eyes "Marco, we can talk about all this tomorrow, but right now, we need to get some major beauty sleep." she said. She gave him a peck on the lips and wrapped her arms around his midsection, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes "goodnight Marco." she said. Marco fell back on her pillows and wrapped his arm around her "goodnight star." Marco smiled. "I love you..." she whispered. Marco giggled "I love you too silly." he said. They enjoyed each others warmth, soon giving in to the fatigue of their incredibly stressful night.


End file.
